


Arrivals and Departures

by waffles_1



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-21 23:09:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 46,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8263903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waffles_1/pseuds/waffles_1
Summary: sometimes you meet someone when you least expect it.





	1. 1822

It's a blur. 

People moving by at the speed of light while others stand around waiting to go on their next adventure. There are kids screaming, a woman on her phone talking about a remodel project gone sideways, business travelers discussing the next new product that is going to take over the world. 

Ali remembers when it used to be an adventure but now to her, it's all a blur. Most days, she can't even remember what city she is in or what time zone it is. She took some personal leave a few months ago where she didn't fly at all and she realized how much she missed it. She missed the structure, the routine, and sigh, the adventure of it all. 

Today was no different, well, sort of. She picked up this extra trip since her best friend Jessica had begged her too. Apparently, needing a weekend to pick out your wedding dress for your wedding in six months is important. She has never flown this route before so it's nice for a change of pace. The best part is that she going on a mini vacation to Kauai for a few days of R&R before having to go back to the east coast. 

Ali makes her way through Reagan, dodging all of the distractions, till she gets to her departure gate. She meets up with the other four flight attendants, while they all introduce themselves. This is her first time working with them so they make meaningless small talk while they wait to board the plane. 

For Ashlyn, she feels the exact opposite of Ali. She loves what each day brings, something a little different each trip. Thankfully, always a good different. Bad different, that wouldn't be a good thing, ever. 

She doesn't usually fly through Reagan, doing direct flights out of Orlando, her base. Luckily, working for an airline has it's perks. One of her buddies from the military is having an early bachelor's party in San Diego this weekend so she worked her schedule so she could get paid to get out there. Being the best 'man' meant she had a little hand in the planning, but since that's where many of Craig's friends are still based, it just seemed easiest. She definitely had to get up early and dead head up to DC, her least favorite thing to do. 

Apparently, when people get to sit next to pilots, they feel like they need to talk, constantly. She doesn't mind some idle chit chat about the job and what not, but not for hours. Today, she got lucky though, sitting next to one of her favorite types of passengers, an inquisitive kid. 

Ashlyn appreciates when parents apologize beforehand for their kids pestering her, but she will always take time for a kid. Growing up, she idolized her dad, a military pilot that was killed in action when she was young. If she can inspire another future pilot, she can feel like she did some good in her life.

The boy she sat next to responded to every thing she said with "Cool!". It always makes her feel way more cooler than she knows she really is. It's in these moments when she thinks how she can't wait to have kids. Just missing that one thing, a woman to have them with. 

Her flight finally gets to the gate and she bids her new friend adieu, but not without giving him a plastic set of wings to wear. His mom makes sure to take a picture of them together so he can always remember his 'cool' new friend. 

She realizes she only has to walk down few gates to her departure gate, thankful to not have to figure out how to get around another new airport. As Ashlyn is almost there, she notices this amazingly beautiful flight attendant standing up to get her things ready to board the plane with a few others. She's pretty sure she would have remembered working with her before, but man, she is gorgeous, she thinks to herself as they get closer.

Her co-pilot is already at the gate, a guy she has worked with once before. He was sitting among the FAs when he called out to her, as they all turned to look. 

A smile comes to her face as she extends her hand, "Hey Randy, long time no see". She does her best to keep her eyes focused on him, but they wander over his shoulder to the brown eyes staring directly back at you. 

"Yeah, Ashlyn, it's been what three years? What are you doing on this route?", Randy says as their hands break free from each others grip. 

She puts her hands in her pockets before answering, "headed to a buddies bachelor party this weekend so picked up this out and back route."

He pats her on the back, "you always were the smart one. But you know, who may have you beat. Have you met Ali?", he says giving a head nod over to the brunette standing behind him. 

A smile comes to her face, "I don't think I have, I'm Captain Ashlyn Harris", extending her hand to Ali. Ali's eyes light up some and she tries not to let them drop to completely look over the beauty standing in front of her. "Hey, I'm Ali, I am the lead on this flight.", she says, as she shakes Ashlyn's hand.

They both feel something, not sure what, but definitely something, when their hands are wrapped in each others. They hold each others eyes for a minute before being interrupted by Randy's voice. "So Ashlyn, this one parlayed her trip to San Diego so she can have a vacation in Kauai for a few days."

Before Ashlyn could respond, the thought of this hot woman in a bikini sent her smile into a smirk. She nods, "I will admit, that is pretty good. I think I would take that over the bachelor party I'm headed too", laughing with a chuckle. Ali's smile grows a bit, "bachelor party, huh. Is this your bachelor party?", with a raised eye brow. 

"Oh god no", tumbles out of Ashlyn's mouth way to quickly. "It's for one of my close friends I served with overseas. A lot of things have to happen before it's my bachelor party", laughing just thinking about, "including having a reason for a bachelor party".

Ali's eyes squint a little, trying to read into what she just said. Is she single, she wonders to herself. She is WAY too hot to be single, unless she is a player, and that, she wants nothing to do with. To be honest, she isn't even sure she is gay, but her intuition is definitely screaming it. Ali admits that between the uniform, that is definitely more tailored and fitted than other pilots she has flown with, leaving little to the imagination or the way her blonde hair is pulled back in a bun, under her hat that frames her beautiful face, this woman is gorgeous. 

Of all the years she has flown, Ali has never once been attracted to any of the pilots she has flown with. Most likely, probably because the majority of them are men, but man, she might have to make an exception. The same can't be said for other flight attendants …

They are pulled out of their banter by the others getting their things and going through the boarding door. "After you", Ashlyn says and gestures with an open palm. There are definite perks to having manners, as she walks behind Ali as they head toward the plane. Ashlyn's eyes starts with her calves that are popping in her heels, over her tight but plump ass, that you swear to god she is moving her hips with a little extra sway to make sure you stare, to her dark hair that has been pulled into a tight bun on the top of her head, man you are turned on. Ashlyn is still trying to figure out if she is just a general flirt or actually likes women, when Ali turns around as they are waiting to step on the plane and says to her quietly, "How was the view, captain", with a wink. 

Ashlyn just stands there wide-eyed and shell shocked, as the others in front get on the plane. She realizes after about ten to fifteen seconds she was just standing in the jet way by herself. She shakes her head and steps on the plane, noticing that Ali will be working the first class section. As she is turning to make her way into the cockpit, she takes off her hat and just looks at Ali with her dimpled smile, and shakes her head. 

As the plane is fully boarded and they have shut the boarding door, Ashlyn gets over the intercom system and runs through her normal spiel about flight time (five hours), their route (over the middle of the US), and their arrival time (about 7pm local time). Ali finds herself smiling while listening to her talk. She sounds so confident and knowledgeable, it's a kind of a turn on she thinks to herself. Could this woman be any hotter?

Mid-way through the flight, Ashlyn and Randy start taking turns using the restroom and getting their meals. Ashlyn let's Randy go first since he mentioned he needed to use the restroom about an hour and a half ago. The protocol is that there always has to be two people in the cockpit at once, so it's no surprise when someone sits down in Randy's seat. Ashlyn is looking through her flight logs before she closes it and looks over, seeing Ali sitting there, looking out the window. 

"Hey there", Ashlyn says with a smile, not thinking how it most likely would have been her. Ali, turns her head towards Ashlyn, answering with a smile and a "hey" back before continuing. "I always love coming up here and looking down. It's one the reasons I wanted to be a flight attendant. Everything is so much better up here, peaceful, quiet, and beautiful. Plus, I really wanted to travel the world."

"Those are pretty good reasons", Ashlyn jumps in, before adding, "my dad was a pilot and I always loved his stories. He was my hero, I wanted to be just like him."

Here they find themselves sharing something so personal, but so simple, before they are interrupted with Randy coming back in. "Well, if you will excuse me, I do believe it's my turn", Ashlyn says with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. She was enjoying the few minutes she was able to spend with the beautiful brunette and can tell there is much more to her than just her looks. Ali shares a similar smile with the blonde before she disappears behind the metal door.

Ashlyn, having a moment to herself for the first time since she got to the airport in Orlando, she takes a deep breath, exhales, and smiles. 

When she was done, the other flight attendant had their food ready. Ali was coming out of the cockpit to grab them for the pilots, once Ashlyn was settled again. Due to the small space, Ali and her basically had their fronts brush each other. As they slowly passed, they kept eye contact and Ashlyn swear she saw Ali's eyes dip to her lips. Out of habit when this close to a beautiful woman, Ashlyn's hand went right to her waist. About three seconds later, she realized what she was doing and muttered, "shit. I'm sorry", as she ripped her hand off of her body. A smirk comes across Ali's face as that all happened before mumbling, "I didn't mind." They both enjoyed the close contact and the rush it gave them for the next few hours.

After the rest of an uneventful flight, they pull up to their gate. They got in a few minutes early and got to see the start of a beautiful sunset over the ocean as they were bringing the plane around to lineup for landing. Taking into account what Ali said earlier about one of the reasons she made this a career, as they were banking, Ashlyn made an announcement to the plane, "as we are beginning our approach, if you look out the right hand side, you can take in a breathtaking sunset over the ocean. As a pilot, I always find that sunsets up here are more beautiful and peaceful than down below, so take a minute and enjoy."

Once Ashlyn turns off the engines and Randy records some last minute data, they pop open the cabin door to be available to the disembarking passengers. Since Ali had worked the first class cabin, they ended up standing next to each other. Ali leans over, bumping shoulders with Ashlyn, telling her, "you were right, that was an absolutely stunning sunset." Ashlyn turns her head to look at her and smile, "I thought you might like it. I wanted to make sure you didn't miss it." Ali turned her head to continue to thank the passengers but not without getting flushed inside that the pilot basically made that announcement for her benefit. 

As the last passenger got off the plane, Ashlyn ducked back into the cockpit to finish packing up her bag with their flight books. While she is putting her hat and jacket back on, she thanks all the flight attendants that are finishing up cleaning and grabbing their suitcases before they head off the plane.

They are all making small talk walking through the airport before making a quick stop at the restrooms. Ashlyn and Ali end up next to each while waiting for the others to finish up. Ali breaks the silence, "so does the bachelor party weekend start tonight?, raising her eyebrows up at Ashlyn. She let's out a chuckle while shaking her head, "nah, I'm staying at the crew hotel tonight. My buddies don't get here until tomorrow afternoon. What about you? When do you take off for Kauai?" At this point, they have started walking as a group together, but the two of them wander a few steps behind.

Ali grabs her phone from her purse and pulls up her flight info, "oofta, I forgot about this one, my flight is at 730am. Ugh, I hate early flights, especially when I'm not working." Ashlyn laughs at her comment, "I have to agree with that one, I am so happy there is no alarm in my future tomorrow morning." They walk a few more feet before Ashlyn feels out the situation, "so I guess no crazy partying from you tonight?" Ali shakes her head, "definitely not. I'll probably just grab a drink in the hotel bar." This time it's Ali that puts out the feeler, "if you end up not wanting to save your liver for your party weekend, I wouldn't be opposed to the company."

A smile comes across Ashlyn's face, "I might have to take you up on that offer, if you meant it?", raising an eyebrow. Ali just smiles back, "open invitation." 

Randy and Ashlyn end up next to each other on the shuttle bus, talking about one of the new types of planes the airline is going to introduce later this year. It's not till they are all in the elevator that she ends up again in close proximity to Ali. They all seem to be on different floors, Ali on of the lower ones. She turns around and waves to everyone before stepping out. Ashlyn picks up on the fact she didn't tell any of them she might see them later. Was the invitation for the drink just for her? The thought alone makes her feel a bit giddy inside.

Once Ashlyn gets to her room, she finally is able to shed her polyester uniform and let her hair down. She had been in the same clothes for over 12 hours and was definitely ready for something more her style. After stripping down to her sports bra and boxers, she collapses on the bed. Trying not to fall asleep, she scrolls through her phone, catching up on emails and her friends social media happenings. She finally wills herself up to jump into a quick shower, knowing if the invite from Ali didn't happen, she would just get into bed and sleep. 

Three floors down, Ali is getting out of the shower trying to figure out to wear. She didn't really bring clothing to go out in, plus it's just the hotel bar. She settles for a pair of jeans, a black v-neck t-shirt, and her go-to grey boots. After having her hair in a tight bun all day, the last thing she wants to do is wear it up. She runs her hands through her hair and figures she will just let it air dry. She starts to get a little hungry so she heads downstairs. Ali really doesn't even know if Ashlyn is going to come down as there was never a definite committal, but internally, she is really hopeful. 

For a Thursday, Ali was surprised at how crowded the bar actually was. She was able to snag two seats right at the bar, throwing her purse on the empty one next to her to hopefully ward off anyone. As soon as she sits, the bartender is coming over immediately, smile on his face. 

"Hey there, what can I get for you?", he asks her while sliding two menus on to the bar. 

"I'll take a glass of merlot, thanks", Ali says, flashing a thankful smile.

"Is someone joining you? Do you want to go ahead and order for them?", putting down an extra coaster. 

"I'll wait, not really sure what she is going to be drinking tonight.", Ali says, starting to look at the menu. She was hoping that way it didn't sound like some random person was coming to drink with her.

About twenty minutes later, Ali is working her way through a salad when she catches someone leaning on the chair next to her. As she goes to turn and say something, she hears a newly familiar voice, "is this seat taken?"

Ali actually has to do a double-take as she doesn't recognize the blond pilot at all. Ashlyn went with a black t-shirt, a pair of black pants, and doc martens. Her hair was down, still a bit wet, but hanging over her shoulders. Ashlyn's pretty sure though it was the full sleeve peeking out from her shirt. "Not what you were expecting?", Ashlyn says as Ali is just staring at her, mouth agape. She pulls out the chair and settles in, moving the menu over a bit. Ali still hasn't said a word, still looking her over, as the bartender comes over to get Ashlyn's order. 

"I was wondering if you were going to stand this one up?", he says, with a nod towards Ali. Ashlyn just laughs, "I would have to be the stupidest person alive to do that." The brunette shakes herself out of her trance, when she hears what Ashlyn says about her. 

"I'll just take a Makers, neat. And one sec…", Ashlyn tells him while taking a quick look at the menu, "and the grilled chicken sandwich. Thanks."

Ashlyn turns and looks at Ali, before breaking the silence, "you okay?" Ali just smiles at her before telling her, "I honestly didn't recognize you at first. Between, the long blond hair and all those tattoos…", she trails off. Ashlyn smirks back at her, rubbing her left arm, "good or bad?". 

"Good", Ali says mumbling, "very good." The moment is broken when the bartender brings Ashlyn's drink over. She nods a thank you before swinging around on the bar stool to face Ali, as she swings around as well, their legs become somewhat intertwined but not touching. "Alright, so what are we toasting to?", Ashlyn asks. 

"Hmmm. What about to good things that come in unexpected packages?", Ali says while unconsciously licking her bottom lip. Ashlyn shifts her legs so they are now touching Ali's, dropping her eyes to her lips and then back up to her eyes, "that works for me." They clink glasses and each take a sip, eyes not leaving the others'. Ashlyn holds her gaze for a little bit before speaking up. "I have another toast I want to make, if you don't mind?", shrugging her shoulders. "Go for it.", Ali says as she holds her drink in front of her, waiting to hear. 

"I want to make a toast to sharing a drink with a beautiful stranger.", Ashlyn says, holding out her glass, waiting for Ali to close the space. A smile that lights up Ali's eyes comes across her face, "I can definitely agree with that." Again, they take a sip and maintain steeled gazes at each other. 

The bartender with awesome timing comes over and sets Ashlyn's sandwich down at the bar. She breaks their eye contact to turn back to the bar to eat, while Ali does the same. All that is running through Ashlyn's head is how much more beautiful Ali is now than earlier. She also realizes how fit she is when her leg was up against hers. 

They end up making easy conversation about their day and talking about a few different passengers Ali had to deal with as they finish their meals. They end up ordering their third round before turning back so they are facing each other. 

"Alright Ashlyn, I have to ask…", Ali says with a bit of sass, both of them having a bit of liquid courage flowing through their veins. A smile comes to Ashlyn's lips while she is taking a sip of her drink before putting it back down on the bar, answering with a "uh oh, not sure if I'm ready for this one, maybe I need another drink".

Ali throws her head back with a muffled laugh, "you should be scared", laying her hand on Ashlyn's forearm. Ashlyn feels like her arm is on fire. She was already feeling warm all over from the liquor and her company, this just made her temperature rise about twenty degrees. Ali moves her hand away before continuing, "so how many more tattoos do you have, or is this all?"

"This is the most pressing question of the night?", Ashlyn says with a smirk on her face. She shakes her head, before answering, "nah, I have others." She waits a second and then adds, "do you want me to tell you about them or show you?"

Ashlyn can see Ali's face turn red before she shakes her head, telling her, "You are too much. Let me run to the restroom really quickly and I'll answer." Ashlyn watches her take sip of her wine and then get up from the bar. She can't help but watch her walk away in a pair of really tight jeans. She thought her ass looked good before while walking through the jetway…she just mumbles to herself, "shit." She turns back around to the bar and throws back the rest of her drink. 

When Ali comes back from back from the bathroom, she notices that Ashlyn is gone. Her face drops, she thought they were having a really great time, and things were getting good. As she gets closer to the bar, she notices that Ashlyn's glass is gone so it's not like she just ran out to take a call or something. As Ali sits back down in front of her half empty wine glass, the bartender comes over to confirm what she thought. 

"She took care of the bill before she left", he said wiping down the bar next to her. Ali forces a half smile indicating that she heard him before downing the rest of her wine, ready to go back to her room, tail between her legs. She is running through her mind what happened before she went to the bathroom. Ashlyn, at least it seemed, was flirting with her and seemed interested and Ali really thought she was returning what she got. 

As Ali goes to set the empty glass back down on the napkin in front of her, she notices something written on it. 

_1822  
-A_

She stares at it, trying to process it. A smile starts to come back on her face and she slowly shakes her head. Ali picks it up, grabs her purse, and stands to leave the bar. She waves thanks to the bartender as he replies with a smirk, "have fun." 

Meanwhile, in the five minutes since Ashlyn left the bar, she has moved between sitting on the edge of the bed to pacing around the room, to almost going back down to the bar to see if Ali even noticed the napkin and to apologize for just leaving. 

She really isn't sure why she decided to be all mysterious and presumptuous in leaving her room number, basically inviting her up to sleep with her. Ashlyn was hoping she was reading the signs right, like the gentle touches on her forearm or holding her gaze for just that little bit longer than you normally would, meant something. 

Ashlyn is about to give up and just go to bed when she hears the faintest of knocks at the door. She freezes trying to decide if her mind was playing tricks on her or if there is someone actually at the door. Then she momentarily panics, worried that someone else found the napkin. Shit. 

There it is again. This time a little louder. 

She crosses the space of the room in a few easy steps, takes a deep breath and opens the door. 

It's her. Looking down at the floor when the door first opened, slowly raising her head to meet Ashlyn's eyes. Ashlyn breathes out a breath she didn't know she was holding as a smile starts to creep up on Ali's face. Ali pushes some hair that lays in front of her eyes, behind her ear as she lifts up her other hand, holding the napkin, between two fingers. 

"I assume this was for me?", Ali asks quietly, turning a bit shy. She doesn't typically go up to strangers hotel rooms, but honestly, for some strange reason, she trusts Ashlyn and is unabashedly turned on by her. Why should she turn down the chance for someone else to get her off if she was just going to go back to her room and do it herself. 

Ashlyn gets a smirk on her face and reaches out of her room toward Ali with her right hand. Ali takes it and walks inside. As she is passing by Ashlyn, she hears the blonde say, "I left it for the bartender so I'm kinda surprised you are here."

"I can leave if that's what you want to do", Ali says, stopping in front of her. 

Ashlyn takes a step closer as the door closes behind them, saying, "I'll tell you what I want to do", moving her hands to Ali's waist, "it's what I have wanted to do since I saw you at the gate this morning."

Ali starts to realize that this isn't going to go slow and decides to go along with it, wrapping her hands around Ashlyn's neck. "And what's that?", pulling their bodies together, before dropping her eyes to Ashlyn's lips, continuing, "are you going to tell me or show me?"

With that Ashlyn aggressively closes the distance between the two, capturing her lips in a searing kiss, that ends up shoving Ali up against the wall. It doesn't take long for Ali's tongue to touch the blonde's lips as they open immediately. Their tongues are fighting for dominance while Ali's hands snake up inside the back of Ashlyn's shirt, running her nails down her back. 

Ashlyn moans into her mouth before taking a small step back, ripping her shirt off and throwing it off to the side, immediately pushing her body back up against Ali. 

Ali digs her hands into Ashlyn's back, feeling all of her muscles rippling through her body. A definite byproduct of pulling up a 400,000 lb plane into the air, multiple times a day. 

Feeling a rush of energy, she pushes Ashlyn off of her, into the opposite wall of the entry way. As she is stalking towards her, she pulls off her top, evening the playing field. 

Ashlyn's eyes, already black and dilated, look Ali up and down, stopping on her side tattoo, before shifting them back to meet her eyes with a smile. She is so turned on. 

The final gap is closed, this time slowly. Ali, biting her bottom lip as she runs her hands up Ashlyn's stomach, feeling all of her abs contacting under her touch, holding her eye contact. Her hands run over her still covered breasts, Ashlyn closing her eyes at the contact, chest heaving up and down, heavy breathing filling the room. Ali's hands wrap around her neck again, bodies again flush before she says, "as much as I want to just fuck you right now against this wall, I'd rather go over to that bed and take my time with your body. But it's your choice."

A bigger smile comes to Ashlyn's face, part shocked, but mostly turned on by Ali's words, closes the miniscule gap between their lips. This time, the kiss isn't hurried or desperate, it's soft but passionate, exploring but gentle. Instead of their tongues fighting for control, they are hesitant, lightly touching. As they are running out of air, they pull apart and Ashlyn tells her, "lead the way."

Ali leans back in and gently kisses her lips and then moves her mouth to Ashlyn's right ear, she whispers in her ear, "I don't typically sleep with people I've only known for a few hours, especially co-workers". 

Ashlyn moves her hand behind Ali's head so she can return the favor by telling her, lips barely touching her ear, "me either, but you have completely flipped my world upside down and there was no way I wasn't going to be buried between your legs by the end of the night." She can feel Ali smile against her skin before she feels a light tug on her ear followed by, "I love your confidence, it's such a turn on."

They both have hands running all over each other's bodies at this point, both moving closer to the king bed taking up most of the space in the room. Ali feels the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed and the smirk against her lips. 

Ashlyn moans against Ali's lips while moving her hands to the back of Ali's bra, unclasping it in an easy snap of her fingers. Ali lets out a soft moan, thinking about how this is definitely not Ashlyn's first rodeo. 

Ashlyn runs her hands down Ali's arms, bring her bra straps with her, until they reach her hands and then throws it on the floor. Ali takes it upon herself to return the favor and easily lifts Ashlyn's sport bra over her head, their eyes settling in each other. 

Ashlyn takes her hands, slowly raising them up Ali's stomach, her breath hitching as she reaches the rise of her breasts. They both let out a soft moan, Ali moving her mouth back to Ashlyn's as both of the blondes hands easily cover her perky breasts. 

Their tongues start to explore each others mouths, Ashlyn's fingers ghosting over her nipples in cadence with her tongue. The sensations driving Ali mad, she can't refrain from her hands moving up to Ashlyn's breasts and mimicking the same movement. Ashlyn can't handle her touch and throws her head back while letting out a soft moan. 

Ali, one to never let an opportunity pass, leans down to capture one of her nipples in her mouth, a loud moan now coming from the body she is slowly starting to unravel. She wraps her arm around Ashlyn's back to bring her body closer while her other hand is massaging the breast left uncovered by her mouth. She can feel one of Ashlyn's hands leaving her waist and going to the back of her head, encouraging her to continue. 

Ashlyn can't take it anymore and pulls Ali's head off of her with a soft tug of her hair, bringing her back up so they are eye to eye, whispering, "I think it's my turn now", pushing her down on the bed. 

Ali sits down on the bed and goes to scoot back to be more in the middle while pulling Ashlyn down on top of her by grabbing her hand. When Ashlyn lays her body on top of Ali's, she holds herself up slightly with her hands, telling her "you are so beautiful.", as she closes the gap and brings their lips together again. Ashlyn can feel Ali's hands and arms wrap around her back and neck, a soft moan escapes from below her when she presses her hip into Ali's center. 

Their tongues again begin to slowly explore each others mouths, Ashlyn picking up a little bit of rhythm on top of her, body hitting all of the right places. Ali can't take it anymore so she wraps one of her legs around Ashlyn and flips them over. She moves so she can straddle her body as she lets her eyes rake over the blonde, whose hands have now settled on Ali's hips. Ali just looks down on her, mumbling, "you have an amazing body", hands running from her collarbone down her body before settling on her tattoo that runs down the length of her side.

"This", running her the fingertips from her right hand over the intricate flower designs, "is fucking beautiful. I knew you were hiding more.", smile coming to her face. A smile comes to Ashlyn's face as well, enjoying the view above her before breathing out, "did you see the others?" Ali gets a bit of furrowed brow, tilting her head, "I see arm and side, should I be able to see them?" Ashlyn just nods her up and down before slightly moving her head to each side, moving her eyes down to her shoulders. A slow smile comes to Ali's face, while she licks her lips as she presses her body on Ashlyn's to see them better. 

While she is leaning over, Ashlyn pulls her hips further down on her, wanting to feel more. She hears near her ear, "knowledge speaks", moving to the other ear, "wisdom listens. I like that.", moving to kiss each shoulder. Ashlyn gets out "dad loved Jimi Hendrix and I love that quote", before moving Ali's head back down so she could kiss her again. 

When their lips separate again, Ashlyn whispers out, "sit up, I want a better look at yours." As Ali sits back on Ashlyn, she sits up as well so they are eye to eye. Ashlyn takes her hand and drops her eyes to trace over every letter tattooed on the brunette's side. "This script is amazing" before reading the quote in German back to Ali, who let out a soft moan, "and so is the meaning". Ali pulls Ashlyn's head up, surprised, "how do you know German?" Ashlyn shrugs her shoulders, "stationed in Germany for a few years. Why do you have a German tattoo on your body?" A smile comes to Ali's face, "I lived there after college."

Ashlyn shakes her head, "anything else we have in common?" Ali moves her hands around Ashlyn's neck, eyes running all over Ashlyn's face, before answering her, "I don't know about you, but I'm really, really turned on right now and I'm ready for you to do something about it." Ashlyn's dimpled smile shines through as she slowly moves her face closer to Ali's, telling her "I can definitely do something about that.", letting her mouth do the talking. 

As their mouths are moving in unison, tongues showing their increased need to be touched, Ashlyn pulls Ali's waist deeper into her before slowly flipping her over so she is laying on top of her. She moves her mouth off of her lips, over to Ali's ear, which she lightly traces with the tip of her tongue before pulling down on her ear lobe lightly with her teeth. Ashlyn, taking direction from the pressure of Ali's hands on her body, continues to slowly move her tongue down this beautiful woman's neck until she feels fingertips digging into her back. She takes that as a hint and so Ashlyn opens her mouth to lightly suck on Ali's pulse point, teeth raking over it, tongue soothing it out. A loud moan by Ashlyn's ear and shifting of the body below her spur her into action to continue her journey. 

Ashlyn reaches around and grabs Ali's arms from her back and pins them down with her hands as she puts her mouth to Ali's small, perky breasts with nipples waiting to be devoured. Simultaneously, she feels Ali's body arch into hers, turning her on to the point she isn't ready to go slow anymore. Ashlyn moves her mouth over to her other breast, pulling on her nipple lightly with her teeth, hands pressing hard into Ali's. Lifting her mouth off the body below her, she moves up to take Ali's mouth into a deep kiss, letting go of her hands, which immediately go into her hair, pulling her further down. As she separates, Ashlyn looks her in the eyes, with a softened look, "can I finish what I started?" Ali, biting her bottom lip, simple nods, giving her full approval.

Giving her a little kiss, Ashlyn says with a smile, "be right back."

She sits up and scoots down to the end of the bed, standing, looking down at this work of art laying in front of her. 

Ashlyn starts unbuttoning her pants, maintaining eye contact with Ali, who has moved her arm behind her head so she can watch her get undressed. As Ashlyn is pushing her pants down, her abs and deep v-line become more prominent, contracting the further down she bends. Ali's eyes drop to her torso, taking in her toned body in her tight black boxer briefs as she stands back up. "Still like what you see?", Ashlyn asks as Ali's eyes come up to meet hers. "I'm liking it more and more every time something comes off", Ali breathes out 

With those words, Ashlyn crawls up on the bed to unbutton Ali's jeans, pulling them off her tight and toned legs before throwing them on the floor next to her pants. She moves to stand back up and take off her own underwear as she watches Ali lick her lips in front of her, sending a lightening bolt to her core. "You are killing me with your ink. That tattoo on your thigh… I can't wait to get a closer look", Ali makes sure to tell you as you are baring your body to this beautiful woman.

Once completely naked, Ashlyn kneels on the end of the bed, picking up Ali's right leg, starting to kiss and caress it, with her lips and hands. The second her lips touch Ali's skin, her body arches up, while she closes her eyes and lets out a soft moan as her head hits the pillow. Ashlyn slowly takes her time until she is mere inches from the finish line, but she isn't ready to cross that yet. As she let's her tongue run between the crease of skin and her underwear, she hears a soft "Ash", being mumbled above her. She runs her hands up to grip both sides of her waist as she sits up on her knees, looking at the girl in front of her. 

After looking her body up and down, she crawls up to lay her entire body on top of the brunette, who uses all her strength to pull Ashlyn into a deep, open mouthed kiss. As they each pull away, Ali, whose breathing has picked up, tells Ashlyn, "you are so fucking sexy." Ashlyn just closes her eyes and moans while she is scooting back down Ali's body, hands running all over her until they get to her thong. The next words to fill the room are Ashlyn mumbling, "this definitely has to go", as her fingers latch onto each side of the lace fabric and pull sit slowly down her legs. 

When the thong has been thrown into the clothes pile on the floor, Ashlyn moves to start the slow exploration up her left leg but not before telling her, "this pretty much beats any view I've ever seen."

Mimicking the same path and actions she did on the opposite leg, this time, there is no underwear in the way. Even in the fairly dark room, she can see Ali's glistening folds begging for attention. She is done wasting time. She wants what she has wanted since she saw her this morning. 

She lowers her head, taking a deep breath, inhaling Ali's sweet smell, before moving her eyes to see dark, brown eyes staring back at her. Ashlyn wraps both arms around Ali's thighs and takes her tongue and gently drags it completely through Ali's folds. As soon she had touched her, Ali's entire body arched up, hands grabbing sheets, and the loudest moan heard all night fills the quiet room. 

As Ashlyn finishes licking up all of her initial wetness, she lifts her head up, quietly telling Ali, "you taste even better than I thought you would. I hope you don't mind that I want to taste your cum on my tongue", before dipping her head back down, lightly dragging her tongue over her clit. Ali's legs just spread further open, a hand going to the back of Ashlyn's, panting out "it's not going to take long if you keep doing that."

This time it's Ashlyn that moans deeply into Ali, as she takes it as a challenge to get her off as quickly as she can. Ashlyn goes between working her tongue inside Ali and gently tracing it over her clit. She must be doing something right as the body she has fully taken over is starting to move all over. Ashlyn glances up and sees Ali grabbing her own breasts, squeezing and pulling her nipples. 

Ashlyn picks up the pace, while moving her left arm from under Ali's thigh to over her hips to try and hold her down. Shortly after, her right arm is out from under Ali's leg reaching up to cover her left hand that is caressing her breasts. Ali moves her hand out from under Ashlyn's and just covers it, directing her actions. 

She can hear Ali's voice above her mumbling, "yes, god, that feels so good", but it's music to her ears when she distinctly hears, "fuck Ash, I'm about to cum." Ashlyn goes to move her hand off of Ali's breasts so she could intertwine their hands together. All it takes is one lick and engulfing her clit with her mouth for Ali to completely unravel, a rumbling moan filled with expletives, making sure Ashlyn knew what was happening. 

The next thing Ali feels is Ashlyn dipping her tongue deep inside her, trying to lap up every bit of wetness her body is pushing out. Ali can't even move right now or verbalize how sensitive she is. The truth is, she is getting worked up again and it wouldn't be the worst thing if this beautiful, sexy woman made her cum again.

Ashlyn picks her head up and starts crawling up Ali's sweaty and spent body. The only thing she leaves behind is her fingers that have started to drag slowly through Ali's folds. "Mmmm", she moans out as she goes to kiss Ali's lips again, "so I could do that all night." Ali smiles into Ashlyn's lips, tasting herself on her tongue, before mumbling back, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't stop you and it kinda feels like you aren't stopping either." With Ashlyn's fingers starting to tease Ali's opening, she pulls back slightly to look in Ali's eyes, while Ali's hands and fingertips are dragging up and down her back. With a smirk, Ashlyn asks quietly, "do you mind?". Ali shakes her head, "I'm dying for you to fuck me". Ashlyn leans back down to kiss Ali, moaning into the kiss as she pushes her two fingers deep into brunette. Ali lifts her left leg to wrap around Ashlyn's thigh pulling her more into her. 

As their lips pull apart, Ashlyn's fingers getting into a deep rhythm, Ali gets out, "you feel so good inside me of me Ash. You are going to make me cum again.", her voice getting more labored. Ashlyn lays her forehead on Ali's shoulder so she can get more leverage with her right hand. She slows down and completely pulls her fingers out before slowly driving them back in. Ali's head thrown back on the pillow, her body starting to move in motion with Ashlyn's above her. Ashlyn moves her lips to start kissing and sucking down her neck as she curls her fingers buried deep inside, palm rubbing her clit. 

Ali's left hand moves up from Ashlyn's back to her neck, while her other hand is still gripping her ass tightly. Ashlyn can tell she is close so she turns her head to capture her lips, tongue diving deep into her mouth as Ali starts moaning into it. Ashlyn feels Ali tighten around her fingers as she spreads her legs further apart. Ali can no longer keep her lips on Ashlyn's as she throws her head back, body shaking, as Ashlyn whispers, "cum for me, beautiful". Her orgasm runs deeply through her body, shouting, "I'm cuming, Ash, I'm cuming." 

Ali's body slowly goes limp as Ashlyn slowly pulls her fingers out of her, kissing the side of Ali's head as she adjusts to lay her head onto Ali's chest, fingers running down her arm, legs intertwined, listening to her rapid heartbeat. Ali kisses the top of her head, wrapping her right arm around the blondes body, her left hand moving to take hold Ashlyn's right hand. 

"So that makes up for you leaving me alone at the bar.", Ali chuckles out while Ashlyn squeezes their hands. She can feel the blonde's lips turn up on her chest, "that was the plan", mumbled out as well.

After a few minutes of them both just laying there in silence, "Hey Ash", Ali quietly says. Ashlyn just answers with a "hmmm. I like when you call me Ash." A small smile comes over Ali's face as she drops Ashlyn's hand from her grasp and starts running her hand through the blonde's wavy locks. Ashlyn mumbles out "if you keep doing that, I'm going to fall asleep." Ali chuckles, "not yet stud, there is no way I'm not repaying you for what you just did to my body." Ashlyn curls into Ali's body more, wrapping her right hand tight around her waist, "just let me know, I'm comfy."

Ali looks over at the time and see's it's going on midnight. She has to be at the airport around six for her flight so time is definitely not on her side. She moves to shift her body down, which makes Ashlyn lift up her head and look up. They are both now on their sides, facing each other, when Ali lifts her hand and tucks some of Ashlyn's hair behind her ear.

"You are so beautiful and sexy", Ali breathes out as she cups Ashlyn's cheek. Their desire and level of intimacy starting to creep beyond a one night stand for both of them. Ashlyn answers with a dimpled smile, before lifting her own hand up to Ali's cheek, "not as beautiful as you. You, by far, are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Ali moves to closer to Ashlyn, her lips brushing against hers. Ashlyn's hand drops to Ali's waist and then to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Ali is taking the lead and let's her tongue drag over Ashlyn's bottom lip, faintly tasting herself before Ashlyn's mouth opens and invites her in. They slowly intertwine their tongues, taking turns of showing their dominant side to each other.

As they continue their explorations, Ali slowly rolls over to on top of Ashlyn. When she has her body fully on top of Ashlyn, she can feel the blondes hands rake over her back, down to her ass, pulling her closer. Ali moves her lips off of Ashlyn's mouth, starting to leave open mouthed kisses over to her ear and down her neck. She can hear Ashlyn's moan as she continues to gently drag her tongue over her pulse point, before she hears in her ear, "you feel so good on me."

Ali starts working her way down Ashlyn's body, down her collarbone before she gets to her breasts. As she slowly puts her tongue on Ashlyn's left nipple, she shifts her body down so she can use her left had to caress Ashlyn's right breast. Both women moan at the contact and the soft touches being made. Ashlyn is loving how Ali is raking her teeth over her nipples, working her up almost to the point of no return. Just as she is about to tell Ali she is needed elsewhere, she continues her path, down her sternum to her stomach. 

Ashlyn feels Ali's tongue tracing every one of her abs that are contracting on contact, "that feels amazing", all she can get out. She see's Ali lift her head to tell her, "these abs are amazing, Jesus." Ali slowly makes her way over to her side tattoo, tracing it with her finger and also placing soft open mouthed kisses from top to bottom. If she thought this was going to lead to something more than tonight, she would ask what they all mean, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

Ali starts kissing Ashlyn's hip bones while the blonde is starting to wiggle and buck up under her touch. As her tongue is being dragged from one hip to the other, Ali inhales deeply to smell Ashlyn's sweet smell. She also knows she wants to have her faced covered in her within seconds. Ashlyn must be reading her mind, she hears from above, "Ali, please." 

This has the opposite effect though as Ali slowly climbs back up Ashlyn's body, leaving open mouthed kisses along her journey. When they are face to face, Ali asks, "what's the please for? What do you want?" Ashlyn breathes out, eyes closed before bringing Ali back into focus. "I need you to fuck me, I'm so turned on right now." Ali leans down and slowly kisses her as she drags her fingers down Ashlyn's body, until she hits her clit. Ashlyn moans into her mouth as her whole body just arches up in pleasure. 

"Oh god", Ashlyn moans out after moving her mouth away from Ali's. Ali uses that as motivation and dips her fingers down into Ashlyn's dripping folds. "God, you are so wet", Ali whispers in her ear as all Ashlyn can do is moan back another, "please."

Without wasting anymore time, Ali plunges her fingers deep inside Ashlyn who spreads her legs as wide as she can. Ali can already feel the blonde tightening around her fingers and she is deep inside, pushing in and out of her without abandon. "You feel so good around my fingers Ash. I can't wait for you to cum all over them", Ali tells Ashlyn, who has her eyes squeezed shut. Before long, Ashlyn's voice is ringing out in the room, "oh god, I'm about to cum. Don’t stop, don't stop." Within a minute, Ali can feel a flood around her fingers and Ashlyn's fingers digging into her arm, head thrown back. 

"Hey, beautiful, open your eyes", Ali whispers while placing soft kisses around Ashlyn's neck, up to her mouth. Ashlyn slowly opens her eyes, bringing one of her hands to rub her face before making eye contact with Ali. Her dimpled smile comes across her face, as she whispers back, "hi". Using the hand that she just used to rub her face, she cups Ali's cheek and pulls her in for a chaste kiss, before breathing out, "well, that was amazing." Ali just hums out, "mmmm, telling me, but now I need to clean you up." With that, Ashlyn drops her head back down on the pillow, calling out, "do what you must." They both let out a chuckle before Ali starts her familiar path back down Ashlyn's body. 

As she starts to settle in between Ashlyn's legs, she makes sure to tell her "I am going to enjoy every second of this." This elicits a moan from above as Ashlyn's hand goes to the back of Ali's head and directs her where she is needed most. Ali doesn't waste any more time and dives in to capture her clit with her entire mouth before dipping her tongue down to capture the remnants of the orgasm that had just ripped through Ashlyn's body. 

"Your tongue feels so good Ali, I'm not going to last long.", Ashlyn pants out between moans and heavy breathing. This just encourages Ali to start devouring Ashlyn and now has her entire face is covered with the a wet sheen, mumbling out, "you taste so good."  
That was all it took as another orgasm ripped through Ashlyn's body. This time though, there were no words spoken, just whimpers, before muttering out, "sensitive. Come up here.", using her hand to pull Ali up by her chin. Ali makes sure to go to Ashlyn's right thigh and trace her mermaid tattoo with her tongue and soft kisses. As she follows a similar path back up her body, Ashlyn uses her arms and hands to pull her up to her, wrapping around Ali's body. 

Ashlyn places a soft kiss on Ali's forehead before pulling her up for a kiss. Ali rolls off of Ashlyn, onto her side so she can face the blonde as she continues to catch her breath. She takes her hand and is gently tracing over Ashlyn's body. Her chest, down to her stomach, down to her leg tattoo, back up and settling on tracing her tattooed arm. Ashlyn just smiles back at her, an endearing smile while looking deep into Ali's eyes. 

"Thanks for taking a leap of faith tonight", Ashlyn tells her before dropping her voice, "and throwing out all of your morals", chuckling. Ali smiles back at her, crinkling her face as her smile meets her eyes before responding, "well, I'd do it again in heartbeat. Definitely worth leaving my morals at the door.", continuing to drag her fingers on her body. 

Ashlyn leans forward and slowly closes the space between them. Ali moves in the remaining gap, hand falling flat on to Ashlyn's abs. Their lips slowly touching while they start to kiss, just enjoying each other's company and the closeness of what the evening brought. 

After finally pulling away from each other, after their tongues have explored each other's mouth, Ali motions with her head for Ashlyn to curl up on her. A smile creeps on Ashlyn's face as she lays her head on Ali's chest and throws her left arm over Ali's mid-section. Ali runs her fingers through her hair again to lull the blonde asleep within minutes. 

Ali waited until Ashlyn was fast asleep before placing a soft kiss on her forehead and quietly getting up out of the bed. She grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to get dressed before heading back to her room to shower and get ready for her flight. As she was about to walk out the door, she leaned back on the wall, where everything started and just watched the slow rise and fall of this woman who has definitely left her mark on her, literally and figuratively. 

A few hours later, Ashlyn goes to stretch as the morning light faintly shines into the room. She moves to roll over to find Ali's body to cuddle back into but instead finds cold sheets. This makes her lift her head up and look around. Gone are the clothes that were scattered all over the floor as well as the brunette. As she flops back on the bed and rolls over to look at the clock, she notices a piece of paper on the nightstand, tucked under her phone. She reaches out to grab it, to see what it was, and a small smile came to her face as she unfolded it and read the writing inside. 

_Ashlyn-_

_Thanks for an amazing night, I definitely won't forget it anytime soon._

_It seems that our paths should have crossed long before now, so I leave it to fate for them to cross again._

_Have a great weekend with the boys and don't do anything I wouldn't do. :)_

_Ali_


	2. To Fate

\------ Six months later ------

She couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day, in this amazing setting. As Ali sits on the wrap around porch of their rented house for the weekend, she thinks about how happy Jessica is that her big day is finally here. As if on cue, she sees her coming up the steps from the beach to join her, carrying over a basket for the house that Ali is staying in with the rest of the bridal party.

"Here let me help you", she says, standing up to grab the basket from Jessica. "Shouldn't your wedding planner be doing things like this so you can just relax", Ali asks as she takes it in and sets it on the kitchen counter. The basket has a few items that are local to the area, some wine, postcards, pamphlets about the area and things to do, along with schedules for the weekend. Since a majority of the guests are from out of town, they thought it was a nice gesture to ensure everyone knows what's going on and where. Since the area the wedding is lacking in hotels, especially reasonably priced ones, quite a few guests decided to take Jessica and Craig's suggestion to let them pair guests together in the different houses they rented around the area. 

Ali gets out the opened bottle of pinot gris from the fridge and pours Jessica a glass while she refills her own. They head back out to the porch to enjoy the unusually warm spring day before they have to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. "So, how are you doing? Nervous, yet?", Ali says while she bumps the bride with her shoulder. "Surprisingly, no. I'll wait till tomorrow to freak out so you have something to do", Jessica tells her before taking a sip of her wine. 

"Yeah, yeah. You and Craig have been together forever it feels like, you got a good one", Ali tells her friend of twenty years. "Now we just need to find you someone, it's been far too long.", Jessica says, knowing she is going to get shit for calling her out on it. "Hey! It hasn't been that long since I was picking up the pieces of a relationship we all thought was going to last and plus, you know me, I'm picky", Ali says, shrugging her shoulders. 

Jessica puts her arm around Ali's shoulder, knowing that Ali wants the same happy ending she is getting. To break the silence that has fallen over them, Jessica chimes in with, "well, least we forget you do like your one night stands." Ali pulls back from Jessica, shaking her head, "ONCE", she playfully shouts while holding up her index finger, "once since college and I'll never live it down", ending with a chuckle. She continues, "and trust me, I would be all up for it being more than one night if it was under different circumstances." Jessica interrupts her, "but oh, Ali has to be all mysterious and not leave her phone number, not one of your most brilliant moves." 

Ali just laughs at her friend, rolling her eyes and nodding in agreement. Deep down, Ali knows if she did want to be in touch with Ashlyn, it wouldn't be that hard. They do work for the same airlines and probably have common acquaintances, but she kinda likes this idea of a mystery woman that hopefully she runs into again. Also, there is the major issue of them living in completely different cities, which can't be ignored. 

"Well, maybe you will find your woman this weekend…stranger things have happened.", Jessica says bringing Ali out of her wondering mind, telling her, "I know of at least two single women coming, one is definitely your type." 

Ali goes to stand up to grab the bottle of wine, "whatever you say matchmaker", yelling over her shoulder as she goes in the house. She refills both of their glasses which finished off the bottle, asking when she is done, "should we make a toast?" Jessica nods, waiting for Ali to continue, "to my bestie and her happily ever after." They clink their glasses but before they can take sip, Jessica chimes in "and possible love connections or at least another one night stand." All Ali can do is shake her head and mumble "you are insufferable."

\--

As Ashlyn walked through the hallway and into the large room that was reserved for the group, she did a quick assessment of who was there. As she scanned the room with her eyes, she heard a laugh ringing out above the chatter that is filling the room. She quickly turned her head to the left to see if she was truly hearing things when she saw her. A small smile immediately coming to her face as her eyes settled on Ali, head thrown back in laughter. But then, she saw him and her smile dropped. There is Ali (what are the odds) sitting on some guy's lap, arm wrapped around his shoulder. Of course she would have a boyfriend.

She is paralyzed, can't move her feet, can't look away when she hears her name being called from the front of the room. That's when Ali whips her head back toward her, the smile leftover from the previous joke slowly leaving her face. She stares at Ashlyn and then stands up slowly off the guys lap, who turns his head back toward the back of the room to see what she is looking at. He looks back up at Ali as she moves to stand next to him, her hand on his shoulder, still staring dead straight at her. 

"Ashlyn!", she hears again, this time her eyes meeting the person shouting. "I'm so happy you got in, we can finally get started. I feel like we are always waiting for your slow ass", her buddy Craig says loudly as he is closing the gap towards her. They embrace in a tight hug, slapping each other's back as they let go. 

Craig, who still has his arms around her shoulder tells the room, "alright the best man is here, let's do this." Ashlyn still trying to comprehend how Ali would be here as she walks with Craig up to the front of the room to greet his fiancé. As she is making her way, she passes by Ali who is still watching her and by the looks of it, is starting to finally put the pieces together. When they are even with each other, Ashlyn just gives her a closed mouth smile as she opens her arms towards the woman of the hour. "Jessica, its so good to see you. It's been way too long. You look beautiful as always."

"Ash, I see you haven't changed at all, still charming the ladies.", Jessica tells her as they release from their hug. "Come here, you need to meet my maid of honor.", pointing over Ashlyn's shoulder as she turns around and sees that she is pointing directly at Ali. "Hey Al, come here, I want you to meet Ashlyn."

Ali, who hasn't moved her eyes off Ashlyn since she walked in the room, closes the gap between Jessica and Ashlyn, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Ali, this is Ashlyn. Craig's best man.", Jessica says to Ali, eyes also implying it's one of the single women she was mentioning earlier. A smile starts to come to her face as she reaches out her hand to Ashlyn, telling her, "long time no see." Ashlyn mirrors her smile, taking her hand, "too long." As the two just look into each other's eyes, holding their hands together, until Jessica chimes in. "Um, do you guys know each other? Have you flown together?"

As Ali releases Ashlyn's hand she turns to her friend, "we flew together on that route I picked up from you, when you needed to find your wedding dress." Ali, raising her eye brows slightly and sees Jessica thinking back and then her eyes widen as she puts two and two together. Ali had never mentioned it was a pilot or a name, really leaving out the little details besides the main one. 

Jessica turns to Ashlyn, "so how did you end up on that route?", eyeing her, trying to get the full picture. Ashlyn just shrugs, before filling in her, "I picked up the route to get to Craig's bachelor party in San Diego." Jessica slowly nods her head up and down as she remembers how Craig told her how only Ashlyn would be able to pick up someone and charm them back to her room within a few hours of landing there.

"Well, then, I'll let you two catch up.", Jessica says, full on smirk, patting them both on the shoulders before walking away to discuss with the wedding planner what they need to do now that everyone is there. 

"I didn't even recognize you at first, your hair, it's all gone…", Ali trails off. Ashlyn, runs her hands through the front of it, with a slight chuckle "yeah, I needed a change and this seemed like a good place to start. Do you like it?" Ali rakes her eyes all over Ashlyn's face and down to her lips before coming back to her eyes, "I love it. It looks really good on you, the whole look looks good on you", she motions with her hand over her whole outfit. 

Ashlyn had gone back and forth on what to wear to the rehearsal dinner. It wasn't really fancy, per se, but it still a rehearsal dinner for a wedding that she was a best man for. She had settled on a pair of grey, fitted dress pants, a light blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a green bow tie and a pair of brown wing tip shoes to top it off. 

A smile comes to Ashlyn's face as she looks Ali over from head to toe for the first time. "You look beautiful, Ali. That is never a question when it comes to you, is it?". Ali bows her head, blushing a bit but is fairly impressed that the light green knee length chiffon dress she chose to wear compliments Ashlyn's bow tie, and outfit, perfectly. "Sorry, to cut this short, but I see Craig trying to hail me over to him.", Ashlyn says while giving a small smile to Ali before walking away

After Ashlyn walks away, Ali hears, "sooooooo, what was all that about? You looked like a deer in headlights and then you developed this look", moving his hands over her face. She giggles at the pretty much spot on description. She can freely admit that the hair cut looked fucking hot on her, pair that with that outfit she had on… Jesus, she felt down in her core. If they weren't at a rehearsal dinner for one of her best friends, she would have drug her somewhere, anywhere and had her way with her already. 

As Ali is going to explain, the wedding planner gets everyone's attention to let them know they are going to walk through the procession and ceremony in another room. She calls for the wedding party to gather in the back along with Jessica while she sets Craig up at the front of the room. As she separates the bridesmaids and groomsmen into separate sides, she puts them each in order of walking out and who they are walking out with. Ashlyn is wondering if her and Ali will walk out together or separately. As the last pair goes, Ali comes into her view and all she can do is look in her eyes. Ali smiles at Ashlyn while holding her gaze. The wedding planner interrupts the moment by telling them that they will walk down the aisle together, with Ali looping her arm through Ashlyn's. They both nod, look at each other, take a deep breath, and then Ali puts her arm through Ashlyn's and both of their hearts skip a beat. They look at each other, sharing a last second look and begin to walk. 

Ashlyn notices how Ali is the same height as her with her heels. She should have noticed earlier when they were talking but she was still trying to get through the fact Ali was here. About half way down the make shift aisle, Ali looks over at Ashlyn, taking her in as they slowly make their way closer to the front. Ashlyn feels eyes on her and glances over before giving Ali one of the dimpled smiles that won her over in the first place. It's at that point when the room goes quiet and she is the only other person there. But they aren't, they are in a room with about fifteen other people so they both turn their heads back and focus on Craig in the front of the room, who has a smirk on his face, obviously filled in on the situation. 

Once their walk is completed, they break off and stand on their respective sides, waiting for Jessica to walk down the aisle. As she slowly makes her way toward them, Ali thinks about how beautiful her friend will look tomorrow. As Jessica goes to stand next to Craig, after her father 'gave her away', Ali's eyes catch Ashlyn's as they are turning from watching the aisle to watching their friends. They both hold the gaze again until they realize what they are doing, Ashlyn shaking her head to clear it, Ali, dipping her head down to the floor. 

After going through the main points of the ceremony, they start making their way back to where they started, arm and arm again. As they are walking back, Ali tells Ashlyn "this is going to be such a beautiful ceremony. I'm a sucker for weddings." Ashlyn just smiles back at her, "agree, this wedding planner did a great job, really looking forward to tomorrow."

When they have been dismissed from their duties to go grab some food and drinks, Ashlyn stops Ali before they head back over to the other room. "Hey Ali?", she asks, making Ali turn back toward her, "I would love to hang out some this weekend, but promise I won't make it awkward for you and your boyfriend. I won't say anything about what happened." 

Ali stares back at her confused before asking her, "boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend." She takes a minute still racking her brain before her eyes get big, "Oh my god, Kyle?!" Ashlyn just shrugs her shoulders before continuing, "you guys looked cozy when I walked in there.", rubbing the back of her neck. "Shit. No.", Ali says starting to laugh, "you literally walked in at the worst possible time. I told him to get up so I could sit there and he wouldn't move so I just sat on him. Which included him trying to drop me on the ground so I was grabbing on to him." 

A smile starts to come back to Ashlyn's face as she lets out a deep breath. "Well, I guess that should make me feel a little less nervous being around him.", she chuckles. "I guess my previous question still stands then, do you think we can hang out some? I know what happened in San Diego was just a one night thing, but to be honest, the thought of you and that night has come across my mind a few times since then."

The room has emptied leaving just them, which neither noticed until Ali looked around and stepped closer to Ashlyn. She reached out with her left hand to grab Ashlyn's before telling her, "you aren't the only one that has thought about that night." They both take another small step closer as their eyes dip to each others lips. Ashlyn mumbles out, practically on Ali's lips already, "can I kiss you?"

Ali doesn't answer her, just moves her lips on to Ashlyn's soft lips. It's not a kiss filled with passion or desire, it's a chaste kiss that cause both to let out a soft quiet moan, as their hearts are pounding in their chests, remembering every little place those lips have been on their bodies. Ashlyn takes her left hand and lifts it up to cup Ali's cheek, bringing her a little closer. Neither wanting to get caught by their friends, they pull away before looking into each other's eyes. A smile coming to Ashlyn's face as she slowly opens her eyes, mumbles, "I'll take that as a yes."

Walking back to the main room where the majority of people are gathered, Ali asks where she is staying. "I'm in the house with the rest of the wedding party, is that where you are at? It's off Water Street, a block or so from here?" Ashlyn nods her head, "yeah, but I haven't been by there yet, is it nice?" 

"It's right on the ocean, it's massive, beautiful, and relaxing.", Ali tells her as they get the door of the other room where people have started to grab food and sit at the two communal tables that took up most of the space they had rented out at the Edgartown Yacht Club. "Well then, I can't wait to get there.", Ashlyn says, smiles before looking around seeing some of her old crew from the Navy. "Catch up later?", raising her eyebrows up at Ali. "Definitely. If we don't talk here, see you back at the house", Ali answered with a smile. 

Throughout the rest of the evening, Ashlyn kept stealing glances at the beautiful and carefree brunette across the room. At times, she just would look up to find her and rejoin the conversation. Other times, when she was free to let her eyes wander, she would look Ali up and down, taking in every curve and remembering how her hands had traveled every inch of her beautiful body and how they are dying to do it again. Once or twice, she felt eyes on her and glanced up, only to be staring into the brown eyes of her desire before they both would smile and shyly look away. 

After a few hours, she saw Ali and her brother saying their goodbyes to Jessica and Craig on the other side of the room. Ashlyn didn't want to seem like a puppy dog, immediately following after Ali, but she wanted to be able to just hang out with her and catch up. A few minutes later, Ali whispered something to Kyle and made her way, by herself, over to Ashlyn. 

"Can I steal her away for a second?", Ali asks with a smile, but is really just telling the group of guys that Ashlyn is sitting with, as she lays her hand on her forearm. Ashlyn shares a smile as some the guys smirk back as she stands up from the table and they step a few feet away. 

"Kyle and I are headed back to the house so I wanted to say bye.", Ali tells Ashlyn while glancing back to Kyle in the doorway of the room. She continues, "will you come find me when you get back? It would be nice to have a glass of wine and catch up before the craziness of tomorrow."

Ashlyn's dimpled smile appears as she runs her hand though her hair, telling Ali, "I'd like that", glancing at her watch, "I'll probably take off in 15-20 minutes, I didn't realize it was already almost 10pm." 

"Sounds good, looking forward to it.", Ali tells her as her lands on her forearm , giving it a light squeeze. "Me too", Ashlyn responds with a wink. 

After Ali leaves, Ashlyn rejoins her friends who proceed to grill her on everything that had just happened. "Alright, Harris. Spill.", she heard from her friend Tommy who was under her leadership on one of her last tours before leaving the military. Ashlyn just shakes her head with a smile, while finishing off the last of the whiskey in her glass, "I don't think you guys need to worry about what's going on there… You all have enough drama in your lives for all of us."

As she goes to stand up and walk over to Jessica and Craig to say her goodbyes, she hears from the end of the table, "go enjoy that sweet piece of ass, but don't forget all the details so you can tell us tomorrow." Ashlyn's brow furrows a bit as she looks over to Oscar at the end of the table, "you ever talk about her like that again Airman, I'll bust your fucking teeth in.", slapping her hand on her friend Tommy's back, giving him a goodbye smile, as she walks away. She never liked Oscar when he got transferred into her unit and now that she isn't his superior, she could care less about ever seeing him again. 

"What was that about?", Craig asks as Ashlyn sits down with the bride and groom to be. Both he and Jessica watched Ali and Ashlyn talking before she left and then a sudden change in demeanor when Ashlyn returned to the table, including her pointing her finger towards someone at the end with some definite anger radiating toward them. 

She just shrugs her shoulders, telling him, "Oscar being Oscar." After a second or two, she continues, "I just wanted to tell you guys, I'm so excited and happy for tomorrow, but I'm going to take off. I haven't been to the house yet, so I want to get settled in before it's too late."

Before she walks away, Craig just looks at her before a smile forms on his face, "so, Ali, huh?" Ashlyn gets the biggest smile on her face, simply saying, "yep, Ali."

They are hugging goodbye when Jessica asks, "how could none of us figure out the four of us all knew each other?" Ashlyn lets out a deep chuckle, "I have no clue, but its going to make one hell of a story to tell." That brings a smile to Jessica's face how Ashlyn so easily made the assumption that they will at least be friends, but deep down she hopes (and feels) it will be more. She caught them both looking at each other a few times tonight and she knows the way Ali talked about her mysterious one night stand in San Diego, she felt something, even if she won't admit it herself. 

As Ali and Kyle make the slow walk back to the house they are staying in, Kyle finally takes the opportunity to figure out how his sister and the 'best man' know each other. "Ok, enough stalling, it's just us now. Who is she?"

Ali just looks over to her brother with a small smirk on her face, before raising an eyebrow to him, saying "do you really, really want to know?" Kyle just sighs, overly loud, "what do you think, Alex?!" 

She laughs at him since she knew it was a rhetorical question to start with, before continuing, "Remember, before I went to Kauai, like six months ago, I picked up Jessica's route so I could just work the DC to San Diego leg and then fly from there?" He nods as he is following along, "well, also remember what happened in San Diego before I left…", she trails off. She can see his brain going through the last six month of memories before he stops, dead in his tracks. "WAIT!", he screams while he backhands her on the shoulder, "Is that her?!" She bites her bottom lip and nods her head before he starts back up again, "I thought she had long blond hair, but I did see her sleeve. Oh my god, what are you thinking right now?"

"So apparently, she needed a change and cut all her hair off. I don't typically go for the short hair look, but holy shit, she looks so hot Kyle. I couldn’t even deal when I saw her with the hair and that outfit, she looks like a fucking model." Kyle nods in agreement, "are you happy to see her? I mean, you haven't talked to her since that night, right?" Ali nods her head before mumbling out, "yeah, I haven't talked to her but I have thought about her." She shrugs her shoulder, "I don't know, I think I might like her, but I don't want a long distance thing and I don't even know when we would see each other, even if she did want something too."

They start walking again before Kyle chimes in, "I watched you two, and from an outsider, she definitely is interested in you in some way. I mean, if she just wanted something casual, would you do that? Like, if she was like, let's hook up again, would you let it happen?"

It's quiet for a minute as they walk up to the door of the rented house they are sharing, Ali's voice breaking the silence, "That's not really my thing, I don't know. I guess, we will just go with the flow." Once they are in the house and the door is shut, they realize no one else is back yet so they sit on the couch and finish the conversation. "What did you go over and tell her when we were leaving?", Kyle asks once Ali has folded herself into the corner of the L shaped couch. "Welllll, the one thing I haven't told you is how she is staying in this house and she asked if we could hang out some.", she remembered how Ashlyn thought Kyle was her boyfriend and starts to laugh. He looks at her with a confused look on his face, "what?"

Still laughing, she continues, "she thought you were my boyfriend!" Kyle stands up, while yelling "Gross.", walking over to grab a blanket off a nearby chair to throw to his sister who looks cold. "Anyways", she continued, "I told her I wanted her to come find me when she got back here so we could have a glass of wine and catch up. She said she was leaving in 10-15 minutes so I'm assuming she will be here soon." Kyle squeals, "I'm staying out here till she comes, I'm meeting the one who made my sister got her freak on with a stranger." 

Ali just throws a pillow at him at the same time they hear the front door open. Ali turns her head slightly to see Ashlyn coming in, carrying a garment bag and small suitcase. She jumps off the couch to go help her since she has her hands full and was trying to shut the door. "Here, let me help you with that", Ali says as she grabs the garment bag from her hands. "Thanks", Ashlyn breathes out, "it was only a few blocks but felt much longer hauling all this shit."

Ashlyn looks past Ali and sees her brother sitting on the couch staring at them. She follows Ali into the living room, her garment bag still hung over Ali's shoulder as she speaks up as they stand in front of the couch, "so Ashlyn, this is my BROTHER", she emphasis', "Kyle. Kyle, this is Ashlyn, Craig's best man."

Kyle stands up and walks the few feet over to shake Ashlyn's hand, both with strong grips, before he decides to give some sass, "Hi Ashlyn it's nice to meet you. Bet you didn't think you would see this one again", nodding in Ali's direction, "after San Diego, did you?" Ashlyn's eyes go wide as she looks at Ali, who tells Kyle "you are such an ass. I'm going to show her to her room." A smirk comes to Ashlyn's face as she gives a nod in his direction, hanging back a few paces to tell him, just loud enough for him to hear, "seeing her again, is the best thing that's happened to me in awhile." A smile forms on Kyle's face as he gives her a quick wink as she catches up to Ali. 

The rooms weren't really assigned but since Ashlyn was the last one here, Ali took her to the big bedroom in the back that they had all decided should be saved for the best man. Ali and Kyle are sharing a room further down the hallway since it was the only one with two doubles in there. Ali hangs the garment bag up on the closet door while Ashlyn sets her bag down by the dresser, taking it all. "This room is massive. Are you sure it's mine?" Ali just looks at her smiling, shrugging her shoulder, "you are the last one here and no one has taken it yet, so looks like it's your lucky day." Ashlyn looks back over at her smiling, "you can say that again." 

As Ashlyn moves around the room, taking in the massive walk-in closets and bathroom, she comes back to be a few feet from Ali, "are you still up for having that drink?" Ali nods her head before stepping a few feet closer to Ashlyn, voicing her immediate desire, "can I get a proper hug first?" Ashlyn just holds out her arms as Ali steps into them, fitting perfectly together. Ali had already kicked her shoes off so she was her normal height, which Ashlyn secretly loved since she could feel Ali's head lay against her chest, above her rapidly beating heart. 

After a few more seconds, they both separate before Ali tells Ashlyn to go on the back deck while she grabs them a drink from the kitchen. When Ashlyn walks back through the living room, she notices Kyle was gone, obviously just waiting to meet her. 

Ashlyn sits down on the top stair leading down to the empty beach, resting her elbows on her knees, closing her eyes and inhaling the familiar smell of the salty ocean. She doesn't even hear the door open behind her but is brought out of her thoughts when she hears the wood under her feet crackle and feels a warm body occupy the space to her left. She lifts her head slightly to see the beautiful woman in front of her, smiling back at her, handing her a glass of whiskey. A small smile comes to Ashlyn's face as she "you remembered", looking down at the brown liquid in her hand. Ali smiles a genuine smile that goes to her eyes, "of course I did. How could I forget the intoxicating taste of whiskey on your tongue." 

With that, Ashlyn reaches her left arm around Ali's waist, puling her a little closer to her, before holding her glass toward Ali, "here we are again and it's time to make another toast." Ali holds out her glass of wine, waiting for Ashlyn to declare the toast. 

"To fate." They lock eyes while they both take a slow sip from their glasses before a smile comes across both of their faces. Ashlyn looks back out at the ocean before craning her head back towards Ali, who is also looking out towards the black sea. Ali feels Ashlyn looking at her so she turns her head slightly, putting her wine glass off to the side. She reaches toward Ashlyn's chiseled jaw with her left hand, as she turns her body a bit more to face her. Ali let's her eyes take in all of Ashlyn's features, her brown eyes, the millions of freckles that dot her face, and her lips, her beautiful lips. She doesn't wait for an invite but instead, slowly leans her face closer to Ashlyn's who is helping close the gap. Their lips touch lightly before Ashlyn moves her right hand behind Ali's neck to hold her in place. Both tentatively run their tongues against the other's lips, the tips grazing each others. Ali hears Ashlyn softly moan into her mouth as she deepens the kiss, letting her tongue explore the short haired, brown eyed girl's mouth. The kiss is quickly escalating into something more as they start to reposition themselves, Ali pulling Ashlyn over and on to her as she lays her back on the deck. Ashlyn moves her left arm that was behind Ali's back, to help her hover over her. Ali's hands have moved onto Ashlyn's back and her hair, roughly running up the shaved back of her head. It's then they hear a noise from inside that breaks them apart, heavy breathing, eyes still closed. There are no lights on outside where they are at but Ashlyn sees a few people milling about the kitchen. 

"Looks like the rest of the houseguests have arrived.", she says as she untangles herself off of Ali, holding out a hand to pull her up. She runs her hand through her hair before turning back to look at Ali, both finally catching their breath. "Sorry about that. It's just that kiss, I couldn't stop myself.", she says smiling while shaking her head. Ali runs her right hand through the top of Ashlyn's hair before letting it come to rest on the top of her shoulder, "I don't know why you are apologizing. I was the one that started kissing you and wasn't complaining one bit."

They aren't really in the mood to explain anything to the other guests so they just grab their drinks and walk down to the beach for a quick walk. They are walking close enough that their shoulders and hands brush up against each other every few steps but neither makes the move to intertwine their fingers together. 

"So why were you so late tonight? Did you miss the ferry?", Ali says after taking a sip of white wine. "Actually, I flew my plane up here from Florida.", Ashlyn tells her matter of fact. "Wait. What? You have a plane!", Ali, who is completely shocked wraps her hand around Ashlyn's forearm pulling them to stop. Ashlyn just chuckles at her before a large smile comes to her face, "Why are you surprised? I am a pilot, you know", still letting a light laugh out. "I mean, I guess, I just don't know anyone with a plane.", letting go of Ashlyn's arm and they start walking again. "I had an old Cessna but just upgraded to a new one so some friends and I all went in on this new plane this was the first long flight I have done with her. Anyway, I stopped in Norfolk to top off on fuel which took a bit longer than I was expecting." Ashlyn looks over at Ali who is shaking her head, still in disbelief, before she speaks up, "you know what that means, right?" Ashlyn arches one eyebrow up, indicating she heard Ali, so she continues, "it means, you are taking me for a flight sometime!" Ashlyn, just smiles at her, "anytime you want, you have an open invitation."

They realize they have walked down quite a ways so decide to turn back towards the house. As they are making ideal chit chat about the wedding, Ashlyn decides to just do what she wants to do, and the next time their hands touch, she intertwines her fingers with Ali's. She wasn't sure what to expect, but Ali just looked over at her and smiled, while lightly squeezing her hand for confirmation. 

"Now, I have a question for you, and you can say no, no hard feelings, ok?", Ashlyn asks Ali as they slowly move closer to the house. Ali isn't sure where this is going but just nods her head at Ashlyn while tucking a stray piece of hair behind her right ear. "I know we are in this weird space, like we hooked up and it was a toss-up if we would ever see each other again, but yet, here we are." They come to a standstill about one house down from theirs. Ashlyn is using her unoccupied hand to rub the back of her neck, and Ali swears it's the first time she has ever seen her with anything less than her confident self. Ali squeezes Ashlyn's hand so she would continue. 

"Sorry. I guess I just wanted to know if you would be my plus one for tomorrow, I don't know, like a date, like my date." Ali runs her free hand over her face, thinking about what was just proposed versus everything she has been thinking of since she left that hotel room six months ago. "Wow, so a date. That could be nice. I guess I should be honest with what's in my head right now, cause I'm struggling a little." Ashlyn gives a closed mouth smile to Ali, while reaching for her other hand so they currently form a circle. 

"I can't deny there is some thing here. I feel it, you feel it. I'm just scared to get close to you. You live in Florida, I'm in DC. We both have crazy schedules. I don't know. The last relationship I was in broke my heart, and I'm not sure I can do a "relationship" right now, with all of those things thrown in." Ali breathes out before finishing with, "I just want to be on the same page and if this date is just a date, with no expectations, I'm in.", finishing with a smile. 

A small smile comes to Ashlyn's face, projecting one feeling, internally fighting others…rejection, fear, and loneliness. "I think we can do that." 

They turn to finish the short distance back where they started about an hour ago and decide to call it a night. Ashlyn, wants more than anything, to ask Ali to stay in her room with her. Not for sex, but just to feel her body close and to hold her tight. She's afraid though, that might be overstepping some imaginary line that was just drawn. 

Everyone else has gone to bed as the house is quiet. Ali can tell something changed between the two after Ali's response to Ashlyn asking her out. If she was being completely honest, what she knows of Ashlyn, she's everyone she has ever wanted; honest, thoughtful, open, funny, and god knows, unbelievably beautiful. She is just scared to open herself up again. She finally is able to entertain the idea of wanting to be with someone, she doesn't want it to backfire before it even starts. 

"Well, this is my stop", Ashlyn says as she jets her thumb over her shoulder. She opens her arms up to Ali who easily steps in and just closes her eyes.

Perfect. She feels fucking perfect. 

As they separate, they share a little kiss, before Ashlyn says, "fuck it" to herself. "If you get lonely tonight, you are more than welcome to join me." She puts up her hands on the air, "just sleeping."

Ali runs her hand over Ashlyn's cheek, "I'll keep that in mind.", finishing off with a chaste kiss. 

Ashlyn steps inside and closes the door and just sighs, saying to herself, "you had to push, you couldn't let it just be."

A few rooms away, Ali slips into her room with Kyle and notices he is still awake. He looks up at her, taking in her appearance and attitude. He can't exactly read her face, but something is off. "Here", he says, patting the bed next to him, "sit. Talk."

She lets out a sigh. "She's too perfect, or she's hiding something.", she lets out a light chuckle. "She asked if I would be her date tomorrow to the wedding." 

"Well, I hope you said yes…right?" Ali just sits there playing with the cuticles on her nails after Kyle's comment. "I gave this whole speech about how I don't want to date long distance, with crazy schedules, blah blah blah." 

"Ali! There is a girl down the hall that adores you. I could tell that in the first two minutes I met her. Just go with it, if it happens it happens." 

All nods her head before mumbling, "she asked me to stay the night with her tonight, with no expectations of sex, just to be close to each other. Do you think that's leading her on though if I do that? I don't know. I left last time after she fell asleep so I can't deny I would love to feel her wrapped around me." Kyle sighs and just looks at Ali before leveling with her, "you can't control what other people think or feel. You should just do what you want and what makes you feel good."

A cheeky smile comes to Ali's face as she says "fine, but I'm changing first."

There is a knock on the door, which Ashlyn immediately answers with a "come in." What she wasn't expecting was what was in her door way. There stands the beautiful girl she can't get out of her head. Stripped down into a grey tight tank top, that leaves little to the imagination, and a pair of black boy shorts that hit the top her thighs. The cherry on top was the black glasses and her hair in loose bun on the top of her head, god she looked amazing, Ashlyn thought. 

"Does your offer still stand?", she quietly asks while closing the door behind her. Ashlyn, still unable to find words just nods. This was the last thing she expected after what happened ten minutes ago. 

Meanwhile, Ali is taking in what's in front of her. She wasn't sure what she expected to see, but what's there made her breath hitch. Ashlyn was already in bed, back against the headboard in a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, brown wire rimmed glasses and her hair sticking up a little on top from probably running her hand through it a few too many times. 

Instead of walking to the empty side, she walks towards Ashlyn whose eyes have been running up and down the brunette's body as she comes closer. Ashlyn leans over and lays down the book she was reading on the nightstand and sets her glasses down on top. 

Ali pulls back the covers slightly and can see the grey boxers that Ashlyn was going to sleep in. She can't control herself. She climbs in so she is straddling Ashlyn's hips, immediately feeling large hands on her hips, holding her in place. "Can I get a goodnight kiss?", she smirks as she brings her lips to Ashlyns. As their lips touch, she feels the large hands that were on her hips slide down to her ass, pulling her down and closer into the beautiful woman below her. The kiss immediately deepens, but it's not rushed, it's slow, exploratory, taking account for the heaviness between them from their discussion on the beach. 

Ali takes her right hand from behind Ashlyn's neck and trails it down over her collarbone down to Ashlyn's left breast, lightly squeezing it while she hears a quiet moan emanate in her mouth. Ashlyn takes that as an okay for her hands to wander as well and uses her right hand to trace Ali's waist, hip, tight stomach, up to her left breast , slowly swiping her thumb over the erect nipple poking out of the tank top. She feels Ali grind down further on her as Ali moved her lips to her ear, biting down lightly. "I'm going to have to stop before this goes to far. I would be way too loud for a houseful of people I have to see tomorrow morning." 

Ashlyn just lets out a light chuckle, "you read my mind." They come back together for a quick kiss as Ali slowly climbs off of her, burying herself down in the covers. She rolls over on her left side, placing her glasses on the nightstand as Ashlyn reaches over and turns off the light. 

They both turn on their sides, facing each other, smiles on their faces. Ali reaches out and cups Ashlyn's face with left hand, whispering, "you are so beautiful." Ashlyn eyes are focused on Ali's and in this moment and she wishes she could promise they could make the distance work and figure out their schedules to see each other often, if this was the last thing she saw every night before she closed her eyes. But not now, maybe never. 

She is brought of her head when she hears a soft mumble coming from in front of her, "I'm happy our paths crossed again." She leans forward placing a soft kiss on Ali's forehead before whispering, "me too." 

"Will you hold me?", Ali asks with a shyness in her voice. Ashlyn simply whispers, "anytime." With that Ali places a soft kiss on Ashlyn's lips before turning on her side, scooting back into Ashlyn's body. She feels the strong, muscular arm come over her side, pulling her even tighter. It felt like a perfect fit on the warm body behind her fitting around her. She found Ashlyn's hand and moved it under the bottom of her tank, so it rested on her bare stomach before resting her arm over it. She felt Ashlyn kiss the back of her head as her thumb rubbed the smooth skin under her hand. The last thing Ali heard before falling into a deep slumber, not knowing if she was supposed too, was "I wish I could end every night like this. Goodnight, beautiful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Was trying to do one long chapter for this entire time period, but it's becoming really, really long. Part two should be up in a few days and then going back to my other story for a bit. 
> 
> Enjoy! Let me know what you think.


	3. I'll Make You A Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this novel. There are laughs, heartfelt conversations, and smut.

Ashlyn wakes up from probably the most restful sleep she has had this week, to an empty bed. She closes her eyes, mumbling, "seriously?" She ran her hand over the wrinkled sheets next to her and they still contained a slight warmth from where the brunette slept. This brought a smile to her face knowing she must not have left long ago. 

She begins to get the scent of coffee being brewed from the kitchen, which is enough to motivate her to move her feet to the ground to grab a cup. She glances in the mirror before walking out, looking at what a mess her hair was, saying under her breath, "well, that was enough to scare her away." 

When the door opens she can see the shadow of someone in the kitchen. As she gets closer, she realizes it's Ali standing at the counter, waiting for the pot to finish brewing. It's that sight alone that makes her take pause in the doorway. She had seen the front of this outfit when she came into her room last night. What she didn't realize was how nice it looked from behind as well. The swell of her tight ass filling out the short boy shorts and the muscles in her back contracting as she moved to get two mugs out of the cupboard in front of her, made her breath hitch. 

Ali still didn't know anyone else was up until she heard a floorboard creak behind her and by then, an arm was coming around her waist, pulling her back slightly into a tall and tight body, with a scent she could easily identify. A small smile came to her face as her eyes closed to take it all in, leaning back into her. She then felt a hand come up her other side and cover her hand she had just laid on the counter after pouring the two cups. To top it off, it was all followed by a light kiss on the top of her right shoulder and a warm breathe on her neck, whispering, "I thought you left me again."

She turns her body so she is facing Ashlyn, bodies flush together, leaning up to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I was just making us some coffee and then coming back to bed. So you were just impatient." Ashlyn leans forward enough so their foreheads are lightly touching, hands going down to cover Ali's ass. After a quiet moment or two, Ashlyn whispers out, not caring if she was sharing too much, "I missed you." Ali snakes her hand around Ashlyn's waist, pulling their bodies even closer together, before whispering back, "you felt so good wrapped around me last night. Will you take me back to bed and hold me more?" They both are internally making mental notes of how naturally domestic this all feels.

Ashlyn picks up one of the mugs and holds her other hand out for Ali to take, while she grabbed her own mug. Ashlyn pulled her back into the room, shutting it once they were both in. "Here", Ashlyn says as she reaches for the mug Ali was holding. Ali hands it to her and watches as Ashlyn moves to the nightstand and puts them both down. She then moves the comforter over and slides into the bed, leaning back on the headboard, reminding Ali of how she found her the night before. 

There was one main difference between last night and this morning. Ali noticed a brand new tattoo on Ashlyn's lower leg. 

"Come here", Ashlyn said and patted the space between her legs. A smile comes across Ali's face as she walks over but stops first to trace her hand over the newly discovered tattoo. "When did you get this one?", Ali asks while she continues to trace her finger tip of the skull with the Native American headdress. Ashlyn shrugs, "I don’t know, maybe a month or so ago. I had some time off and been wanting to get some more done."

Ali starts climbing on the bed and sits between her legs, back laying on Ashlyn's chest. As she gets settled, she mumbles, "you would have gotten laid if I had seen that last night." Ashlyn just chuckles, "whatever you say princess", and kisses the back of Ali's head as she moves the comforter back over so they are covered from the waist down. Ashlyn leans over and grabs Ali's mug and hands it to her. Once Ali takes it, Ashlyn takes a quick sip of hers, setting it back down, before she wraps both arms around Ali's waist. She hears Ali exhale as she lays her head back onto Ashlyn's chest, moving her free hand under the covers to lay on Ashlyn's thigh.

"This feels really nice, just being here like this", Ali says with her eyes still closed. Ashlyn wraps her arms a little tighter, resting her chin on the top of Ali's shoulder after giving a brief kiss to the same spot. Silence fills the room for a few moments before Ashlyn breathes out, "so, not to bring up something awkward again, but I just wanted to double-check on you being my date tonight." After the words left her mouth, she shut her eyes, preparing herself for the rejection that is sure to come. 

After Ali hears the question about tonight, she realizes she is at a fork in the road. Does she repeat what she said before about her hesitations about being in a relationship and let Ashlyn decide or does she just say fuck it, and deal with all that after this weekend. Before she can even say anything, she quietly hears over her shoulder, "I know you don't want anything more than this weekend, which is cool." Ali can tell that's not Ashlyn's first choice but it seems like she would rather have something than nothing at all. She can also tell that Ashlyn is nervous because she just keeps rambling, which she finds unbelievably cute, "I mean, we are both already going so I guess it doesn't make sense to say it's a date. I just haven't been on a date with someone like you in awhile, well, that's a lie, I guess there hasn't been anyone like you before."

That's all it takes for Ali to turn slightly in her arms and put her coffee down on the nightstand, before turning back into Ashlyn who is now lifting her chin off Ali's shoulder. Expecting to see annoyance or maybe even anger as Ali turns to face her, she see's neither, then again, she doesn't she much past the eyes looking back at her. Without notice, Ali completely turns around and lifts up slightly so she can straddle Ashlyn's legs, who closes the space slightly where Ali was sitting, still not sure what to expect. 

Ali runs her hands through Ashlyn's wild mane with a small smile coming to her face. She can feel Ashlyn's eyes roaming all over her face, probably trying to figure out why she hasn't answered her question. Before she does though, she leans forward letting her lips barely touch Ashlyn's. They hold in that position, no more and no less pressure being added before Ali pulls away. 

"I'll make you a deal", Ali says to her, raising one of her eyebrows. A smirk appears on Ashlyn's face, silently hoping this is a good sign. "I am not going to be your date tonight since, like you said, we were both going anyways and I think we may get pulled in a million different directions. Don't you agree?" Ashlyn sighs, her head dropping a little but nodding. She goes to speak but Ali puts up her index finger up to her lips to silence her. "Ok, so you agree, no talking just yet", she chuckles which brings a smile to Ashlyn's face as well, before she continues. "I'm not saying we aren't probably going to spend the majority of the night together drinking, dancing, and whatever else, I'm just saying by not having a label on it, there is no added pressure."

This brings a smile to Ashlyn's face knowing deep down Ali is right, nodding in agreement. She leans forward to place a quick kiss on her lips before asking, "how did you get so smart? It's like an added bonus." Ali snorts from laughing at her remark, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her neck, Ashlyn wrapping her arms around Ali's back. While holding each other, Ali's mouth is close to Ashlyn's ear so she figures it's as good as time as any to continue her thoughts. 

"Do you want to hear the rest of the deal? I mean, we can just leave it at that if you want." Ashlyn pulls back from the embrace and narrows her eyes towards Ali. "So there is more… do I even want to know?" This time it's Ali that shrugs, "I guess that's up to you. Do you want what's behind door #2 or are you good with what I just offered, nothing more, nothing less."

Ashlyn turns her head up to the ceiling and sighs. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say, I want what's behind door #2. What can I say, I'm feeling lucky", finishing with a smirk and squeezing Ali's waist. 

"Are you sure? No going back…", Ali teases her. 

"Just get it over with already woman", Ashlyn lets out with a chuckle 

"Fine", Ali sighs, "I guess. Welllll, the deal I was proposing was no date tonight BUT I'll give you a rain check and you can take me out on a date sometime after this weekend." A smile slowly comes to Ashlyn's face as she is taking in what Ali just offered up, an actual 'date' date. "Seriously? Like I could come up to DC, or fly you down to Florida, or meet somewhere else and take you out?", Ashlyn asks in some what disbelieving tone. Ali bites her bottom lip and nods with a small smile coming to her face, "on one condition, though. I haven't changed my mind on what I said last night. I'm not really wanting to do a long distance relationship, so no expectations or anything like that. One date.", putting her finger up for emphasis. 

In Ashlyn's mind, all she needs is one date to win this girl over so she isn't worried about it. "Deal", she confidently let's out. "I would ask you to shake on it but I know a far better way to seal that deal." With that, Ashlyn leans up and Ali, with her crinkled smile, closes the rest of the space. This time when their lips touch, Ashlyn immediately runs her tongue over the brunette's lips and is immediately granted entry. Ali's hands go to the back of Ashlyn's neck pulling her in tighter as she feel's Ashlyn's hands drop to her ass to pull her lower half as close together as it would go. Ashlyn let's out a moan as their tongues get tangled up between them and starts to feel Ali trying lift off of her. She starts to pull away, assuming that is what Ali wants but it's the opposite. Ali adds a bit more pull from her hands around her neck and is slowly moving off Ashlyn to her side. It finally clicks for Ashlyn what is happening as she starts to shift so she can be on top of Ali, still keeping their lips together. Hoping she is reading this all right, she moves her mouth off of Ali's lips and to her neck, lightly kissing and sucking her way from her jaw, down to where the strap of her tank top lays. She is careful not to leave a mark knowing that in a few hours, Ali will likely be wearing a dress with her neck exposed. As Ashlyn is paying attention to Ali's neck and shoulders, she feels Ali's hands go down her back and snake under her boxers to squeeze her ass. The feel of Ali's hands on her bare skin kicks her into over drive, letting out a soft moan as she comes back up to connect her lips to Ali's. Ashlyn is starting to lose control and trying to keep this PG-13 but it appears, Ali already has other things in mind. 

She can feel Ali's right hand moving around from her ass, slowly moving towards her center. Not to be outdone, she shifts a bit so she can have more weight on her knees and moves her right hand down Ali's body, stopping to pinch her nipple softly and squeeze her breast before continuing her way down and into her boy shorts. She pulls off of Ali's mouth so they can look each other in the eyes and it's in that moment, they both enter each other at the same time. Ashlyn's head falls forward on to Ali's shoulder as she starts moving in and out of her at the same pace Ali is working her. They are both aware that probably half the house is up and silence is key so they both keep the moaning down. Each are giving hot, soft puffs of air into each other's neck while she can feel Ali's hand digging into her ass, trying to bring her down and into her faster. It's at that moment she hears in her ear, barely above a whisper, "fuck, I'm about to cum, are you close?" Ashlyn simple nods her head, breathing out a "yea" as both start shaking and can feel their fingers working inside a tighter space. Finally able to get more out during the labored breathing, Ashlyn moves her mouth lightly over the small space below Ali's ear as her thumb touches Ali's clit to put her over the edge. They both start shuttering, Ashlyn breathing out, "I'm cuming" while Ali echos the same words. They both slightly slow their pace from what was frantic and fast to slow and gentle, letting each other ride out their orgasm. Ashlyn moves her mouth back up to Ali's lips to start kissing her, this time slower and with appreciation. They slowly remove their fingers from each other, Ali wrapping both arms around Ashlyn's back while she shifts her body to lay down more on top of Ali. Ali can feel Ashlyn pull away from her mouth and just lay her head on her shoulder, hearing, "fuck, you are so good. That felt so good, I needed that." Ali just lightly chuckles while rubbing her back, letting out a deep breath, "you have no idea. It took everything in me last night not to do that, I couldn't wait any longer." Ashlyn just smiles as she shifts herself off of Ali so she is laying on her side looking at the beautiful woman next to her. 

Ali moves her head to the side to meet the hazel eyes looking back at her, a smile coming to her face. After a few moments, she asks Ashlyn, "what time do you have to head over to the venue?" Ashlyn reaches out to fiddle with one Ali's fingers before laying her hand across her stomach, "I think I have to be there around 3? I should probably double-check that", she says with a chuckle. 

"What time is it now, do you know?" Ali lifts her head up and looks at the clock on the nightstand, "It's 9 so you have all day to make yourself pretty." Ashlyn shakes her head, before looking back over at Ali, answering, "I'm not even going to try to look good because, besides Jessica, all eyes will be on you." Ali looks up at the ceiling, rolling her eyes, "you are a player aren't you? All of your lines you have, being unbelievable in bed. Tell me now. Please?", she gets out being half-serious. 

Ashlyn props herself up slightly, furrowed brow, "are you being serious right now?", shaking her head. "I will have you know, I haven't slept with anyone since you in San Diego and it had been awhile before that, so to answer your question. No, I'm not a player, I'm just being honest."

"Honest is good", Ali looks over with a smirk on her face before leaning over to give Ashlyn a small kiss. "Not to end this awesome conversation", Ali chuckles before starting again, "I actually have to be over with Jessica at 11, so I need to get moving." Ali shifts up so she has her back against the headboard, grabbing her mug and taking a sip of coffee. Ashlyn just moves over and lays her head in Ali's lap, slowly running her hand up and down Ali's leg. 

Ali looks down and smiles, she knows Ashlyn is looking towards the end of the bed and can't see her. She moves her free hand down and starts running her fingers through Ashlyn's hair. "I will have to say, I love this hair cut on you. It fits you perfectly." Ashlyn shifts herself so she is looking up at Ali before answering, "I was kinda worried when I saw you were here, what you would think about it. I'm glad you like it, it's actually growing on me. I may keep it this length for a bit" Still running her fingers through the brown, short locks, she smiles down at her, "honestly, between the hair cut and your outfit last night, I'm shocked I kept my hands off of you at the rehearsal dinner. THAT, my dear, was my first impression of your new hair cut last night."

A large smile comes to Ashlyn's face as she turns and is now facing Ali's stomach, she wraps her right arm around her waist and buries herself into Ali. "You know, you are making it really hard to leave right now. The only good part of this is that thankfully Kyle doesn't know you well enough yet or he would have busted down that door by now." Ali hears mumbling below before she can make out what Ashlyn is saying, "good thing we didn't bother to take our clothes off."

 

Ali finally makes it out of Ashlyn's room about five minutes later, almost three of those spent making out some more. She is secretly praying Kyle is off doing something so she won't be grilled immediately. Opening the bedroom door, she finds out, that is definitely not the case. 

"Well, hello there. I see we didn't shower in your love den. Between that smug look on your face and the sex smell you reek of, I'm shocked you didn't stay there till the wedding." 

"Shut up, Ky", she says before collapsing on her bed, both hands covering her face and the smile she is trying to hide. 

"You are so into her. I know you won't admit it, but I know, bb." She laughs at her brothers words looking over at him in the other bed, "You have no idea what you are talking about."

"mmmhmmm. Right." Kyle laughs as he is getting up to sit next her on the bed she has yet to sleep in. "so give me the deets."

She sighs, moving her hands off her face, looking up at him. "fine, I like her, she makes me feel good.." 

"Gross", he says as he slaps her leg.

"Not like that perv, well, kinda like that too", she giggles. "Anyway, she's constantly telling me I'm beautiful, and always wants to be touching, and I slept so good in her arms last night. It's just that she lives in Florida and Kyle, I don't want to do that again. You know how hard that was for me before and then in the end, it was for nothing."

"Alex. Is that the only thing holding you back, the long distance thing?"

Ali takes a deep breath and pauses for a second, "I don't know. I mean it's the biggest factor and our schedules, how we will probably never see each other cause we will always being going in different directions." 

He interrupts her, "but you understand, how all of those things are tangible, you can move there, she can move to DC, you can request different routes to try and have a better chance to be together. Please don't just throw it away because of that. I am going to get to know her better myself though, and will report back. I may tell you to forget everything I just said."

They both start laughing as Kyle stands up and goes back to the other bed, "get your ass in the shower. You do totally smell like sex, by the way, and that is gross!"

Ali goes to jump in the shower as she teases him on the way out, "you're just jealous your little sister is getting some and you aren't."

\--

Ali and Kyle head over to the yacht club where the rehearsal dinner was the night before and where the wedding will be this evening. Neither saw Ashlyn in the house, but then again, they got ready and left fairly quickly. 

Ali had organized to bring someone in for manicures and pedicures while having mimosas and champagne this morning before Kyle did everyone's hair. This is also the first chance since last night that Jessica and Ali have been together enough to have a conversation about Ashlyn. 

"So Alexandria", Jessica starts before taking a sip of her mimosa, "care to elaborate a bit more on that night in San Diego?" Ali knows when she uses her full name, and that tone, she can't weasel her way out of this one. She bites her bottom lip and looks over at her friend who has the biggest smile on her face. Ali lets out a little chuckle, taking a sip before starting. "Yeah, so San Diego, her name was Ashlyn", laughing again while a huge smile comes to her face, "of course as fate would have it, is best friends with my best friend's husband-to-be. I mean seriously!?", she says shaking her head while her eyes get big. 

Jessica just laughs back at Ali, noticing though how her eyes are shining a bit brighter than yesterday and her smile is reaching them. "and what do we think now that we know all of that?" Ali takes a deep breath, before answering, "I think that it makes me feel better it wasn't a complete random.", mumbling almost to herself. "Am I happy she is here? Yes. Am I happy that there is still some sort of connection. I guess. The underlying issue is still there, though. The reason I didn't leave my number and haven't looked for her." Jessica is taking it all in and she knows what 'issue' Ali is referring too. 

"Basically if she lived in the same city, or close, you wouldn't even be questioning it, would you?" Jessica asks her friend who she stood by and had to basically put back together after her last break-up. Ali just shook her head no in response. 

Meghan and Ali had met through a mutual friend about five years ago while Ali was visiting another friend in NY. Ali was still living in DC at the time but they both decided they would try and do the long distance thing. It worked great for the most part, Ali was always traveling but made sure to route through NY at least 4-5 times a month. During those times, she was able to spend at least a couple of days on each side before being scheduled for another flight. The problems arose after months of persistent begging and long drawn out conversations from Meghan, Ali moved up to NY and made that her base versus DC. At this point, they had been together about two years and seemed to be well on the path of a happy and healthy long term relationship. 

It wasn't easy and there was a lot of approvals to go through for work, but she thought it was worth it. She loved Meghan, a lot, and definitely saw a future with her. Even though she still was traveling as much as before, they never really got off on the right foot. Being apart, she never really had to deal with Meghan working late during the week and on weekends since when she visited, Meghan made sure to clear her schedule and make time. Now though that they were living together, that stopped. When Ali was home, she maybe saw her for an hour or two before bed on most days and that was it. They rarely ate dinner together and the sex became less and less frequent. Finally, after about six months of this, Ali called Meghan out on it all, letting her feelings be known, how if she thought it was going to be like this, she wouldn't have moved up. Meghan was unwilling to make changes on the work front so Ali made the difficult decision to break it off and move back to DC. It broke Ali's heart because she was still in love with Meghan and moved heaven and earth to move up there to be with her. She was able to transfer back to DC without too many problems and start the difficult task of trying to heal her heart. 

Ali threw herself into work, thinking that would do the trick but instead it was the opposite. She was dreading dealing with people and all she wanted to do was be home alone, wallowing in her sadness. After a few months of this, Jessica suggested she just take some personal time and work on herself. She finally relented and agreed, taking a month off and just healed. She spent time with family, she spent time with herself, and slowly started to make herself whole again. She barely had entertained the thought of starting to date again, even casually. The last thing she wanted was to open herself up to someone, only for it to be a waste of time. That is why meeting Ashlyn threw her for a loop. 

When she saw her for the first time at the gate in Reagan, walking up to join them, the beautiful blonde had taken her breath away. It was the first time since Meghan that she felt anything remotely close to attraction toward another woman and she was intrigued. The best part about it, all of her flirting was being returned by Ashlyn. It made her feel good, it made her feel wanted, something she had missed for almost the last year. When they ended up at the bar, she didn't even care anymore. All she knew was that she had a need and Ashlyn was someone that could do something about it. She really isn't a one night stand kind of girl but that night, that was all she wanted and felt like it was the same for the blonde. 

She has thought about Ashlyn a lot since then, thinking how nice Ashlyn was and she could tell there was more to her than what she saw. Most of all, she thought about how beautiful she was and how she knew how to make her body hum. In those six months, she used those memories more times than not when she touched herself, alone in her apartment or in another random hotel room. At times, she would hold her breath when boarding a flight to see who the pilot was, just in the off chance it was her and they could just have a no-strings attached night of pleasure again. That was if, the blonde was still single, which in all honesty, she hadn't even asked that in San Diego, so who knows if she was even single then. It was the last thing on her mind that night. 

Ali finally speaks up to Jessica, "I am just so scared to do anything close to a long distance relationship. I told her that last night and this morning." Thankfully they were working on their feet as Jessica swings her left arm over Ali's chest, before exclaiming, "what do you mean this morning? And why were you having conversations about long distance relationships?! You are withholding valuable information."

The only thing she can do is bury her face in her hands, similar what she did with Kyle. "Yes, this morning. Long story short, she asked me last night to be her date to your wedding tonight when we went for a walk on the beach. I told her we could but also said there should be no expectations from it, that I won't do a long distance relationship and what not. I don't know, we both feel something, it's fairly obvious", thinking back to when they were buried in each other this morning. 

Jessica interrupts her, "so what is the problem with trying and just keeping it casual. She is a good person, honestly if I could pick someone for you to end up with it would be her. Not to divulge all of her shit to you, cause that's on her, but she has been through a lot and always has been a glass half full type of girl. She has had Craig's back more times than you would know and the way he speaks about her." she shakes her head, getting a bit teary-eyed, quietly whispering out, "he wouldn't even be here without her." Jessica takes her hand, waving it in the air and getting a bit emotional, "we wouldn't be getting married today if it wasn't her. Why do you think she is his best man over his brothers, who you know he is close to."

Ali is taking it all in and it makes her think. As much as she doesn't know about Ashlyn, she has seen glimpses of the type of person Jessica is describing. Ali narrows her eyes before asking, "I just don't get then how I haven't met her or even heard her name before." Jessica takes Ali's hand, looking straight at her, "you know Craig rarely talks about anything related to his time in the military and honestly, I'm sure you probably have heard the name, it just didn't mean anything to you then." Ali nods in agreement with that and this is all giving her something else to think about. 

"Anyways, I think you need to continue your story… we still haven't gotten to this morning.", Jessica says with a wink and a sip. 

"Well, she asked me to spend the night with her last night, just sleeping", Ali emphasized, "I said no and then Kyle told me I was being an idiot. I didn't want to lead her on if she wanted more than I could give. Anyway, I went and stayed with her and we did just sleep." Ali takes sip of her drink before continuing, "This morning she asked me again if I would be her date since I probably made her nervous with all my stipulations. I told her I wouldn't be her date tonight because there is too much going on and there would be high expectations."

Jessica just looks at her, shaking her head, "Kyle was right, you are an idiot". Ali lifts her eyebrows up at her friend, "you have no faith in me. I told her she could take me out on a date another time." At this, Jessica squeals which makes some of the other girls look over including Kyle who is on the other side of the room. He looks at both of them with a bit of sass, knowing exactly who they were talking about.

"Don't get your hopes up, I still told her no expectations. It's just one date.", Ali makes sure to get her point across. Jessica sighs and just nods her head, "are you at least going in with an open mind or have you completely taken anything besides a random hook-up here and there off the table?"

"I'm going to try and go in with an open mind, but you know me and how I self-sabotage everything.", Ali lightly laughs at herself. 

"I just want you to be open to happiness when it's standing right in front of you", Jessica says, effectively ending her harassment of Ali, laying her hand on top of Ali's thigh. Ali grabs it and gives it a light squeeze, internally grateful for a friend like Jessica.

\---

As the wedding guests have almost all arrived, Ali finishes her last minute pep talk for Jessica, even though it's not really needed. The bridesmaids have already walked out and are getting set-up in anticipation of Jessica and Ali following close behind. 

"You look so beautiful, Jessica. Craig is going to be speechless, completely blown away."

The two women share a careful hug as Jessica's mother opens the door for the women to walk out and join the rest of the bridal party. Ali is walking behind Jessica, gently holding the train and then getting it laid out correctly before she scoots back out and gets into place. The bridal party are all wearing mid-calf length maroon dresses that fall off the shoulders, a small slit up the side with black heels to top it off. 

Ali watches from the last spot in line as the doors in the middle open and the music begins. She had looked to the opposite side from where she was standing to see if she could see Ashlyn, but so far no luck. It looked like the groomsmen were wearing one of the choices Jessica had showed her a few months earlier. Their suits compliment the bridesmaids in terms of maroon ties that they have paired with their fitted grey suits and black shoes. From what she sees of Craig's brother who is first in line, she is in for a treat whenever Ashlyn will come into view. 

As the next to last bridesmaid turned the corner, Ashlyn knew Ali would be next. She mentally tired to prepare herself as she had been thinking about the brunette and how she would look tonight, the majority of the day. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, her breathe hitched. She saw one of the most beautiful women she has ever laid her eyes on. By the expression on Ali's face, she can tell she is completely surprised in what she is wearing. 

Craig had requested that Ashlyn wear her full dress uniform for the occasion. He had wanted to wear his and thought it appropriate that the ranking officer in his unit wear hers. They had been through so much together and Craig wouldn't be where he was without her. Ashlyn easily said yes, especially since it had been a few years since she had pulled it out and had an occasion to wear it for. One of the reasons for flying her own plane was to transport her saber, one of her most prized possessions from her time one the Navy. To fly commercial, she would have had to pack it and check the bag. Even though she works for the airlines, she doesn't put it past anyone for it to get "misplaced" and that was a risk she wasn't willing to take. 

As they are coming together and Ali wraps her arm within Ashlyn's arm, Ashlyn takes a moment to express everything that is running through her head. "You look absolutely stunning, Ali. Like wow." Ali dips her head slightly, a light blush coming to her face. She can tell that Ashlyn wholeheartedly believes that and to have someone think that about her, makes her heart skip a beat. Ali is finally able to find her words as well as the door in front of them is about to open, "Ashlyn, you look amazing in this. I had no idea you would be wearing your uniform." Ashlyn just shrugs her shoulders, leans over to kiss her cheek, before saying "I can't let you in on everything, that's no fun."

The ceremony is over before they know it and they find themselves arm and arm making their way to the back of the room, following behind the bride and groom. When they get to the back of the room, splitting apart to hug Jessica and Craig, to congratulate them, they end up coming back together with Ali wrapping her arms around Ashlyn's waist, taking her a bit by surprise. "I can't get over this. You are looking like such a stud in this." 

Ashlyn just chuckles as she brings her hands up to Ali's waist to pull her a little closer. "I knew if I was next to you, I needed to step up my game."

Ali just smiles and leans forward, placing a light kiss on Ashlyn's lips, which makes her smile into it. That was the last thing she expected after all of emphasis this morning on 'no expectations.' She decides to try and push it and see how far she can go as they are heading over into another space to take photos, she reaches down to intertwine their hands together. Ali immediately looks over to her and flashes an amazing smile at her and gives her hand a squeeze. Jessica and Craig were walking right behind them elbowing each other to look at what was happening. When they get to the space for the photos, Jessica scoots around by Ali and whispers in her ear, "so proud of you." Ali turns to meet her eyes and just gives her a knowing smirk. 

After the photos , the groomsmen go back into the room they were in before the wedding as the bridesmaids do the same to touch up on make-up and for Jessica to change into a more 'dance-friendly' dress. They are in there for about ten minutes before the wedding planner tells them to get lined up to be introduced to the guests. Similar to the wedding, everyone will enter the same way, but luckily, the drinks have already been flowing and everyone is in a much looser mood than before. 

As they are lining up, Ali notices that Ashlyn and Craig had changed into similar outfits of the rest of the bridal party. Ashlyn has on fitted grey pants, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a maroon bow tie and matching suspenders. 

Ashlyn walks over to Ali and does a little twirl before asking, "so what do we think, better or worse?"

"That's not a fair question, those were two completely different outfits. You do look good in both. I will say." Ali leans in so no one else can hear, "you have looked so fucking hot tonight. You will definitely not be going to bed alone tonight.", biting slightly down on her earlobe before she pulls away. Ali thinks if Ashlyn's eyes could go any wider they would. Ali is taken by surprise when Ashlyn wraps her arm around Ali's waist and pulls her tight, Ashlyn returning the favor, whispering, "we aren't going to be here long if you keep teasing me like that.", returning the little love bite on her ear. 

They are brought of their eye-fucking when the introductions start happening . When it gets to them, they clasp hands running out after the others toward the front table. Ali catches eyes with Kyle as he gives her a thumbs up as they run by.

Once everyone gets settled, the DJ announces for the happy couple to make their way to the dance floor for the first dance. The first notes start to play of John Legend's "All of Me", while the couple start dancing in the middle of the room. Ali and Ashlyn are standing next to each other, on the edge of the dance floor, watching their close friends. The two move to close the small space that was between them, stealing little side-eyed glances at each other as it happened. When they are almost touching, Ashlyn reaches her right arm out and wraps it low around Ali's waist. Ali just leans into Ashlyn, resting her head on her shoulder. 

About mid-way through the song, Craig encourages everyone to come out and finish dancing with them. Ali lifts her head up slightly, asking "will you dance with me?" The largest smile comes to Ashlyn's face, answering, "I'd dance all night with you", moving her hand from around her waist to grab her hand to walk the few feet in front of them. Ali slowly wraps her arms around Ashlyn's neck, while Ashlyn's hands wrap around Ali's waist. They are losing themselves looking into each others eyes, listening to the beautiful song, each wondering to themselves what the other is thinking. 

As the song ends and a more energetic one begins, the women find themselves still wrapped up and staring at each other like they are the only people in the room. Someone bumps into Ashlyn while they are dancing to break them out of their spell. Ashlyn shakes her head slightly, getting her bearings, Ali doing something similar. "I don't know if I have had enough to drink yet to dance to this", Ashlyn leans into Ali's ear, indicating her desire to leave the dance floor. Ali nods along but pulls Ashlyn's head down to respond, "promise me though, we can come back out later?" A smile comes to Ashlyn's face, leaning forward to lightly kiss Ali's forehead, "definitely not missing out on that."

Ashlyn takes Ali's hand and leads her back to their designated table at the front of the room with the rest of the bridal party. The seating arraignments are mixed as only two of the bridal party are in a relationship. As they look over the place setting, they notice they have been moved next to each other versus one next to the bride and one next to the groom. 

"Apparently the secret is out", Ashlyn offers up as she pulls out Ali's chair for her to sit. Ali giggles before letting Ashlyn in on the interrogation this morning. She didn't get into the details Jessica shared, but did offer up how they definitely talked about her. 

"Don't worry", Ashlyn offers up, "you weren't the only one that was throughly questioned."

Ashlyn thinks back to early this afternoon when she was with Craig and the rest of the groomsmen, all sipping on some whiskey, when Craig brings it all up. "Alright, Ash, time to talk. How the fuck did you get Ali to sleep with you? I've known her for a long time and she definitely isn't the type to go home with a random from a bar." 

Ashlyn just looks at him for a minute. On one hand she is annoyed that he brought this up in front of others but on the other hand, she feels a little smug that she apparently got the impossible to happen. She shrugs her shoulders before responding, "Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that out."

"Were you happy to see her again?"

"Honestly? Yeah, I mean, I've had my share of random hookups, back in the day, and I've never thought twice about them after. With Ali, I haven't stopped thinking about her over the last six months. "

"She's a good one and a serious catch, I know Jessica would vouch for that. Between us, she got fucked over by her last girlfriend after she moved up to New York for her and she hasn't dated since, so like at least a year."

Ashlyn takes that all in and now it makes sense how she has been adamant about no long distance relationship. Hopefully, she will be able to persuade her otherwise. "Thanks for the heads-up, kinda jives with some things she has alluded too."

"So what happens from here? Are you guys going to see each other after this?" 

"She promised me a date, so I guess we will see." 

With that, all the guys toast Ash and Craig decides that's enough, but making sure to tell her, "don't fuck her over or you'll have to deal with Jessica and I don't wish that on anyone."

Ashlyn smiles back at Ali as someone comes over and pours them two glasses of champagne. Before they can even take a sip, the wedding planner kneels down between them, telling them both its time to do the toasts. 

When the song ends, the DJ gets on the mic to inform everyone about the toasts and defers to Ali, as the maid of honor, to go first. 

Ali stands up, holding a mic in one hand and a her glass of champagne in the other. She reflects back on the first time she met Jessica, middle school , 7th grade. She had just moved from Martha's Vineyard, where they are at for the wedding, to Virginia after her dad got transferred. She goes through their times winning the state title in soccer as seniors, going to Penn State and playing there together. She also brings up how Jessica was her rock when she was in the hospital and almost died. 

At this point, Ashlyn is just staring, mouth open in awe, learning more about Ali then she could have imagined. 

Ali continues on how Jessica met Craig, when they were all at a Penn State bar in San Diego, in town for a teammates wedding. Craig was just recently stationed there after coming home from a deployment on a carrier ship overseas. Ali talks how they had an immediate connection and no matter how much she told Jessica 'to watch out for those military guys', she couldn't deny that what they had seemed real. Meanwhile, she was left fending off some of his friends, who she points to during the speech. 

She talks about how she was a shoulder to cry on when Craig went back overseas and could see how much he meant to Jessica. On the flip side, she saw Craig leave a promising military career to come and work in DC to be with her, taking a job with the government. Ali talks about how they both look at each other like they hung the moon, so many years later. 

"To Craig and Jessica, who have shown me, sometimes true love finds you when you least expect it."

As Ali sits down, she looks at Ashlyn with a small smile, knowing that she showed the beautiful woman on her side a large glimpse of her life. Before Ashlyn stands up, she reaches over with her left hand, rubbing Ali's thigh, "that was a beautiful speech. Thanks for setting me up to fail", giving a soft a squeeze as she goes to stand. That smile on Ali's face growing a bit larger. 

Ashlyn talks about how she first met Craig shortly after she graduated from the Naval Academy and was sent to flight school in San Diego. They immediately became friends and were soon assigned to the same squadron, right before getting their orders they were going overseas. Attempting not to bring down the mood of the evening, she talks how they grew really close after spending some time in Germany before going back to San Diego. 

She talks how Craig and her went out with some buddies one Saturday to 'drink the day away'. Little did they know, Craig was going to leave them all to talk to the 'hot girl at the bar'. It's at this point, Ashlyn decides to ab lib her meticulously rehearsed speech. 

"Now that my memory had been jogged, there were two hot girls that day, and both are in this room." The crowd laughs since you would have to be blind to miss their connection. 

During Ali's speech, Ashlyn started to remember that night and had completely forgotten about the other girl that day, until now. 

It was Ali. 

Ashlyn had just started dating someone and was not interested in flirting, even though she did think the girl was 'hot, but definitely straight.' 

Ashlyn looks down at Ali as it it finally clicks for the brunette. She looks up at her in awe, mouthing "seriously?" to her. Ashlyn smiles brightly, dimple showing and nods slightly. 

Back to the speech, Ashlyn talks about how Craig agonized over taking an honorable discharge when his term was up or staying on and trying to get stationed in Virgina Beach. They would stay up for hours talking about it until Craig finally decided to take that leap of faith. 

"To Craig and Jessica and to leaps of faith."

As Ashlyn sits, Ali leans over, in almost a whisper but more in in disbelief, "you were there?"

Ashlyn simply nods yes. 

Ali shakes her head and while she slowly exhales, recounting in her mind all of these times their paths have crossed and they didn't know at the time. 

Dinner is served shortly after the toasts and they make small talk while devouring their food. Neither had eaten much that day so they took the opportunity to fuel up for what both thought would turn into a long evening. 

The champagne kept flowing and they both were starting to feel good. They each had their hands on the others thigh when they were sitting at the table, thumbs rubbing over the covered skin, both desperately wishing was bare. 

Ali went around the room, talking to her friends from school that she hadn't seen since they left State College. In the middle of an animated conversation about when they were all completely wasted and ended up going to the wrong dorm, she feels a large hand rest on her shoulder. She looks up and a smile comes to her face, telling her, "Hey you. Come here, I want to introduce you.", Ali says with a nod of her head. 

After a quick round of introductions of 'Craig's best man', and nothing more, Ashlyn leans down to whisper, "will you come dance with me?" 

"You don't have to ask me twice." She says her goodbyes and hugs her friends before taking Ashlyn's hand as she leads them to the dance floor. As they push their way into the middle, the song changes over into 'False Alarm' by Matoma. 

"Oh my God I love this song", Ali declares as she starts to feel the slow beat picking up speed. She steps closer into Ashlyn as they start moving to the beat together. Ashlyn leans into her ear as the chorus starts, telling her, "I asked the DJ to play this one. It makes me think of you."

Ali's breath gets knocked out of her. She knows what the lyrics are and knows what Ashlyn is trying to say. She simply looks at the amazing woman who leaves her speechless,wraps her hands around Ashlyn's neck and pulls her into a deep kiss. Ali knows it's getting harder and harder to deny what she thinks of and feels for Ashlyn. She pulls out of the kiss and sees Ashlyn's eyes still closed. As they open, they are hooded and she can feel the desire radiating off of her. 

They are both broken out of their moment when 'Get Low' starts to come over the speakers. Ali takes it upon herself to turn around and push her ass into Ashlyn. All Ashlyn knows to do is put her hands on Ali's hips and start dancing in rhythm with her. Ali can feel large hands pulling her tight into her body. She takes the opportunity to reach around and run her hands up the back of Ashlyn's thighs before bending over at the waist, hands on her knees. Ali feels one of Ashlyn's hands run over her back, while the other hand's fingers grip her tighter. 

Ali leans back up into Ashlyn who takes that opportunity to lean into Ali's neck and kiss her from the neck to her ear, telling her, "I can't wait to make you cum over and over tonight." Ali throws her head back at her words, instantly getting so wet and turned on. "God, I want you so bad."

Ashlyn swings Ali back around so they are face to face. Both have eyes that are completely black with want, chests heaving, trying to get their heart rates under control. Ashlyn leans down, smiling, "when can we leave?" 

Ali surveys the room and sees that Craig and Jessica are slowly making their rounds and saying goodbye. "I think they are leaving soon, let's go say bye." With that, Ali takes Ashlyn's hand and leads her across the room to where the couple of the night are standing. 

"Are you guys getting ready to leave?", Ali asks as Jessica pulls her into a hug. 

"Yeah, apparently there is a hotter couple that's about to fuck on the dance floor, so we wanted to let them be."

Ali is mortified but knows it's Jessica just giving her a hard time. "Yeah, yeah whatever. Brunch back in DC when you guys get back." 

"Definitely. And Alex", Jessica says with sincerity and making sure she had her full attention, "follow your heart, you won't be sorry." 

Ali pushes some hair behind her ear and nods with a shy smile. "I'll try."

Meanwhile, Craig shared a similar wish with Ashlyn as they said their goodbyes. 

"Ash, you guys look good together."

"You have no idea. I'm a goner, lost cause, setting myself up for the heartbreak of the century." 

Craig just laughs at her as they share a smile. "Nah, it may take sometime but you guys are it."

She's about to respond when she feels Ali's hand reach around her waist. "Hey there."

"Hey you", Ali responds as they all four are standing together. "I think we are taking off too, right Ash?"

A smirk comes across her face, surprised she is doing this in front of their friends, "yep, I think that's a good idea." 

Jessica and Craig just look at each other, sharing a laugh. As they are getting ready to separate, Craig yells over at them, "wear protection", which gets a laugh from all of them. 

After Ali finds Kyle and lets him know she is leaving, she meets up with Ashlyn at the door. 

"Ready?"

"Yep"

"Did your brother give you a hard time?"

Ali chuckles, "ugh you have no idea but I love him so, I'm stuck with him." After a second, she adds, "actually, you two would get along really well. Hopefully we can all hang out sometime."

Ashlyn wraps her arm around Ali's waist as they make their way down the street, "does that mean I not only get a date, I get to hang with the brother too?"

"Who said anything about them being separate, maybe he will be the chaperone for the date, cause God knows we can't keep our hands off each other. "

With that, Ashlyn stops them in the middle of the street, takes her right hand to Ali's cheek and pulls Ali in for a deep and passionate kiss. Both start moaning into it, hands starting to roam. 

They break apart for air, Ali forcing out, "take me back to the house, I need you" Ashlyn just stares into her eyes, boring into her soul. 

They grasp hands and pick up the pace, making it back to the house in under five minutes. As Ashlyn opens the door, all of the lights are off and she assumes they are the first ones back. She holds the door open for Ali and then follows closely behind. As she shuts the door, Ali pushes her up against it and pushes her own body into her. Ashlyn wraps her hands around Ali's waist, dropping them to her ass to pull her up into her more, whispering, "what do you think you are doing", with a smirk on her face. Ali leans in closer, still maintaining eye contact, simply telling Ashlyn, "taking advantage of you and this empty house."

With that Ashlyn captures Ali's lips, in a slow deep kiss as she feels the brunette's hands rise to the back of her head, running her fingers through the short shaved hair to where the longer hair has been combed back. She lightly pulls on the longer pieces that in turn make Ashlyn moan into her mouth while applying more pressure. 

As their lips separate to catch their breath, Ashlyn makes her way over to Ali's neck, starting with her pulse point, and lightly sucking. While her mouth is moving down, her hands are moving up to Ali's zipper on the back of her dress. Not giving a fuck that they are standing at the front door of a communal house and are about to get naked right then and there. They are however pulled out of their blissful state when they hear muffled voices outside that seem to be getting closer. 

"Shit", Ali says as she pulls away from Ashlyn's grasp. "I think people are coming in." They both start to giggle as Ali grabs holds of Ashlyn's suspenders and starts pulling her back to her bedroom. Just as they are closing the bedroom door, they hear the front door being unlocked and open. They immediately start laughing harder, thinking about how they almost just got busted, even worse if it had been about five minutes later. 

"You are trouble, Ali Krieger. Maybe I don't want that date."

Ali playfully shoves her right shoulder as she turns around in front of her so she can finish unzipping her dress. "If that's what you want...", shrugging her shoulders. Ashlyn steps closer as her hands find the zipper, that was already about and inch down from where she started to pull it down in the entry way. 

Moving into the bedroom slowed them both down some and the immediate urge to rip each other's clothes off had passed,slightly. 

When the zipper of the dress was completely down, Ali turned around to face Ashlyn. She moved her hands up to the buttons of her white dress shirt and started slowly unbutton them. Her bow tie was already undone so there was no barriers to begin this slow journey down, her eyes completely locked on the hazel ones in front of her. 

When the last button was undone, she took the opportunity to open the shirt slightly and let her eyes take in the tight, firm body in front of her. When her eyes went back up to meet Ashlyn's, she saw a desire housed in them that made her soul shake. She felt two large hands move to the straps of her dress and slowly lower them off her shoulders. The dress easily slid down Ali's body and she was left standing there in nothing but a black lace thong. 

Ashlyn unconsciously licked her lips, taking in the two perky breasts that have rock hard nipples facing her, along with the flat stomach and that god damned side tattoo that drives her insane. This is the first time in six months she has seen Ali's bare flesh and it's making her heart beat out of her chest. 

She is broken out of her spell as she feels Ali's hand take each suspender and move them off her shoulders so they hang by the side of her legs. Watching the brunette slowly raise her hands back up and under the collar of her shirt, she closes her eyes and embraces the soft touch of her strong hands moving the shirt off her shoulders. 

As Ali drags her fingertips slowly up Ashlyn's stomach, she gets to the bottom of her sports bra and starts to tug upward. Ashlyn automatically reacts by lifting her arms up so Ali can pull the tight, binding article of clothing completely off, both completely bare from the waist up. 

Ashlyn closes the gap and wraps her arms around Ali's waist, gently bringing their bodies flush together. They both let out a small and quiet moan as their breasts come together, a searing heat running through both of them. With their eyes closed, Ashlyn continues closer until their lips are barely touching, giving soft pecks that are growing longer each time. Ali wraps her arms around Ashlyn's neck, bringing them tighter together as she lets her tongue slowly trace the outline of Ashlyn bottom lip. 

Slowly opening her mouth to allow Ali in, Ashlyn runs her hands down over Ali's bare ass, dying to remove the last piece of clothing on her body. She loses that train of thought though as she can feel the tentative tongue finding hers, inviting it into her mouth. 

As Ali feels Ashlyn's hand move up from her ass to he bare back, she lets her hands start to fall to the button on Ashlyn's pants. Slowly popping the button and lowering the zipper as they continue to deepen the kiss. Ali moves out of the kiss and goes to pull Ashlyn's pants down her legs and off her body. As her hands go over her quads, she takes a minute to kiss on one of many tattoos she loves on her body. While her tongue is tracing the intricate design of the mermaid, she inhales and is filled with Ashlyn's sweet smell and notices a large wet spot that has formed on her boxers. This spurs her to keep shoving her pants down, Ashlyn hold on onto Ali's shoulder to maintain her balance. Ali is sure to pull of her socks as well as she is down there before running her hands up her legs as she goes to stand back up. 

When they are face to face, Ashlyn cups Ali's face, looking at her with such admiration, "I just want to take it slow tonight. I want to make love to you." A soft smile comes to Ali's face as she leans in and lightly places her lips on Ashlyn before telling her, "that would be amazing, but this time you get to go first." With that, Ali takes Ashlyn's hand and pulls her closer to the bed. Ali moves to take her thong off but Ashlyn's hand stops her as she is about to pull it off. "Let me", she whispers out and she adds her other hand to the other side of Ali's hips. As she slowly pulls them down her thighs, Ashlyn kneels down to be even with the prize she has wanted all night. Once she gets the lace fabric to Ali's knees, she lets go, letting them fall to the ground. Ashlyn shifts her eyes up to meet Ali's who is watching her take in her body. 

Ashlyn can't control herself and moves her hands to the back of Ali's thighs and brings her tongue to barely touch her clit. She raises her eyes as she makes the slight contact and sees Ali throw her head back while her hands find the top of Ashlyn's shoulders. Slowly, Ashlyn's hands move up to her ass as her tongue moves further in to find her wet folds. Ali subconsciously spread her legs a bit further apart to allow Ashlyn do what she wanted as one of her hands moved to the back of Ashlyn's short hair, pushing her in. 

"Fuck Ash, that's not fair", Ali breathes out as her head falls forward. Ashlyn smiles into her, getting her face covered in thick wetness that has coated her inner thighs. She can feel a slight tug of the top of her head, pulling her back up. She makes sure to slowly drag her tongue over Ali's clit as she kisses up her body, stopping for a brief second to engulf one of Ali's nipples in her mouth. 

Ali can't get her lips on her fast enough. Ashlyn is finally standing back in front of her and she pulls their mouths together as soon as she can, moaning as she tastes herself on Ashlyn's lips and tongue. Ashlyn dips her tongue deep into her mouth as she pushes her back until the back of her knees hit the bed. Ali immediately turns them so it's Ashlyn who is backed up to the bed. She pulls away from her, taken in her black eyes that are fully consumed with lust.  
"Wait two seconds", Ali says as she steps away and finds her purse back by the door. Ashlyn stands there in just her maroon boxers watching Ali digging in her purse for something, completely naked. It's taking everything in here not to go over there, grab her by the waist and toss her on the bed and fuck her senseless, but she is intrigued about what's happening. Ali popped up with her phone in hand, shaking it at Ashlyn, "there is no way we are going to be as quiet tonight as we were this morning." Ashlyn chuckles as Ali walks over to the nightstand, uses Ashlyn's phone cable to plug in her phone and turn on Spotify. Music starts to fill the room that should definitely help drown out some of noise that is sure to be made. 

Ashlyn holds out her hand for Ali to come back to her, which she immediately takes. Ali wraps her arms around Ashlyn's neck, slowly moving to the beats, whispering to her, "Now where were we…"

Ali trails her hands slowly from Ashlyn's neck until she has both of her hands on the taller woman's breasts, gently squeezing them, rolling her nipples around between her forefinger and thumb. She can feel the large hands on her hips starting to dig in a little harder which encourages her to continue her journey. She dips her head slightly and captures the perky nipple between her lips and immediately feels a hand on the back of her head pushing her further into her. She continues to suck the nipple and tries to get more of her breast in her mouth, tongue circling and teeth nipping all over.

"I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to stand", Ashlyn says she removes her hand from the back of Ali's head. Ali takes her time and lifts off of her, admiring the bright pink nipple that has been sucked almost raw, with a slight hickey forming around it. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself", as she places a soft kiss on the sensitive area. Ali hears from above her, "trust me, I'm not complaining, I just know that my legs are starting to shake." Ali smiles up at Ashlyn as she gets to the top of her boxers, dipping her fingers into the waistband and slowly pulling them down, giving her a small kiss where she needs it most. She can feel Ashlyn's hands on her shoulders as she steps out of her drenched boxers. Ali looks back up at her as her hands make their way up her thighs. 

"You should lay down on the bed", Ali says as she applies a little pressure to Ashlyn's legs, attempting to show her exactly what she wants. Ashlyn smirks as she sits down and scoots back some to the pillows, in the middle of her bed. She watches as Ali stands at the foot of the bed, the moonlight highlighting her eyes and her amazing body, exposed for her benefit. All Ashlyn can think about is how beautiful this woman is and how she wants to be able to see her like this again. 

Ashlyn is pulled out of her trance when she feels the bed dip and Ali moves in between her legs, picking up her right leg and inspecting the new tattoo that intrigued her earlier. "This is beautiful Ash, I love the detail and the color", tracing it with her finger. 

Ashlyn props her head up moving her arm up to lay on. "Thank you, I'm glad you like them so much. They are all special to me", smiling down at her. Her breath hitches when Ali adjust herself to look at the entire tattoo which inadvertently drags her breasts over Ashlyn's leg. Ali places a light kiss over it before laying her leg back down and running her hands on the outside of both legs, bringing her closer the pilot's center. 

Ali isn't sure how much more she wants to tease because she is so turned on herself, needing to be satisfied sooner than later. She starts to lay down and spread Ashlyn's legs as wide as they would go. Dragging her tongue from Ashlyn's knee, closer to her wet center, as her hands firmly pressed on her thighs. 

She shifts her eyes up to meet Ashlyn's hazel eyes pleading for her to be touched. Ali can no longer wait and settles into enjoy the feast she is about to consume. She lightly kisses Ashlyn's center which makes her immediately arch her back up, letting loose a low moan of pleasure. No longer to control herself, Ali reaches up to grasp Ashlyn's free hand that is resting on her hip, interlacing their fingers together. She slowly drags her tongue through her folds, collecting all her wetness on her tongue and chin. 

"You feel so good, baby", Ashlyn let's out as she squeezes their clasped hands. The pet name makes Ali moan and suck harder on her tight bud that is already becoming more sensitive to the touch. Lifting her hips so Ali can easily enter her, Ashlyn hears the brunette mumble out, "I can't get enough of you, you taste so good." 

Ali dips her tongue deep inside Ashlyn as she moves her other arm to settle Ashlyn's hips as they have started to buck and move uncontrollably, a definite sign she is working closer to an orgasm. Her thoughts are confirmed when Ashlyn breathes out, "I'm so close, please don't stop." All that does is spur Ali on to finish her off as soon as she can. She starts tracing a phrase, letter by letter, on her clit by her tongue. Ashlyn moves the arm that was behind her, down to the back of Ali's head, trying to spread her legs wider. She feels the orgasm coming on fast, moaning Ali's name, squeezing her hand before her body goes completely stiff, flooding Ali's tongue that had entered her deeply when she felt was happening. 

Knowing how sensitive she must be, Ali takes the time to clean her up but avoiding her clit until she feels Ashlyn squeeze her hand and attempt to pull her up. Ali moves up to her knees, giving light kisses to Ashlyn's hip bones before she moves to straddle her stomach. 

Ashlyn moans when she feels the wetness pooling on her and forces herself up to meet her eyes. Her arms wrap around Ali's back as her eyes move dart around Ali's face, moving closer to kiss her. Ali moves her hands to the back of Ashlyn's head as her body grinds down into Ashlyn. As she pulls back from the kiss, Ashlyn moves her right hand up to tuck some fallen hair behind Ali's ear, cupping her cheek before moving her hand away from her face. "You and that tongue of yours, Jesus", Ashlyn tells Ali, shaking her head, "not sure I would ever get tired of that."

"That makes two of us, I can't control myself down there. I just wanted more."

Ashlyn chuckles at what Ali just told her, laughing out, "you would never hear me complain, that’s for sure." She leans forward slowly, capturing Ali's lips in a deep kiss, conveying every underlying feeling she doesn't feel comfortable expressing. She grasps her arm around Ali's waist tighter and slowly moves to flip them over so she is now in between the brunette's legs. 

As much as Ashlyn wanted to slow things down tonight, she feels an immediate need to be buried in this beautiful woman underneath her. She takes the opportunity to trace Ali's nipple with the tip of her tongue, eliciting a soft moan. Ali takes the opportunity to reach down to Ashlyn's ass with one hand while the other rest lightly on her lower back. Ashlyn shifts her weight so she can drag her right hand up and down Ali's outer left thigh, grabbing it tightly she lightly tugs on the erect nipple that continues to get harder between her lips. 

Ashlyn moves off of her breast and moves to kiss the large script tattoo she absolutely loves. She mumbles in German the phrase as her lips ghost over the entire thing, hearing from below her, "Ash…". She lifts her eyes to see the brunette's staring directly back at her, biting her lower lip. Ashlyn can't take any more and slowly moves her hand from her outer thigh to her inner thigh, moving closer to Ali's wet and throbbing core. At the same time, Ashlyn adjusts herself so she can be close to Ali when she enters her. She is slowly tracing her outer lips with her index and middle finger, spreading the wetness all over and also opening her up slightly so she can enter her. Ashlyn captures Ali's lips with a slow teasing kiss as she continues to circle and trace where Ali needs her. 

Ali moans as she feels Ashlyn teasing her opening, just putting her finger tips in and then pulling them out. "Baby, I need you all the way in me. Please fill me." Ashlyn can't deny her and slowly pushes both fingers in with ease. Ashlyn shifts her body so she is straddling one of Ali's legs so she has more room to work. She is taking her time with slow, deep thrusts, coming completely out of her before driving her fingers back in. "Oh god, you feel amazing", Ali whispers out and she brings her free leg up towards her hip, opening herself up more. 

This time when Ashlyn pulls out, she adds another finger to the mix. She lifts up slightly to watch Ali's face as she slowly pushes in with three fingers. Ali rolls her head back against the pillow, digging her fingers into Ashlyn's back, breathing out "baby, don't stop." Ashlyn can feel her getting tighter on her fingers and decides to pull out and push in just enough to continually be running over her g spot with pressure. Ali moves one of her hands up to grasp the back of Ashlyn's head, pulling her down so their foreheads are touching, moving in unison with each other. Ashlyn shifts her hand slightly so she can use the knuckle on her thumb to ghost over her clit as she feels Ali's body starting to shake. Ali lifts her head up as much as she can to capture and open mouthed kiss as she breathes into her mouth, knowing she is about to scream her head off. Ashlyn covers her mouth as she takes her fingers out one last time before driving them deep inside before she starts to furiously start fucking her, making her come instantly. She slows her hand down so she is back to the gentle strokes she used to start the quick journey to satisfaction. She feels that her fingers are completely soaked, which just turns her on to no end. She needs to taste her now. 

"Are you ok?", Ashlyn quietly asks her as she pulls her fingers completely out of her. Ali is just laying there with her eyes closed, nodding, while rubbing her face with both hands, "Those fingers, god."

Ashlyn just smirks down at her and she slowly puts them each in her mouth, one finger at a time, "You taste so good, can I go down on you?" Again, Ali just nods but this time pats Ashlyn's hip, "swing around, I want to fuck you at the same time." God, the dirty talk turns Ashlyn on so much, closing her eyes as her body releases even more between her legs. 

Ashlyn lifts off Ali's leg, leaving a wet sheen from where she had been sitting for the past few minutes. She slowly lifts her left leg over Ali's body, backing up until she is over her mouth. She feels Ali reach up, grab her thighs and pull her down. "Fuck, Al", she wasn't expecting her to immediately take her. This only spurs her on to bury her face deep in Ali's pussy and wetness, tongue entering her without warning. Both women start moaning, each starting the quick climb to their second orgasm of the night. Ali doesn't waste any extra time and reaches around to enter Ashlyn the next time she pushes back on her, her body greedily taking them with ease. Ashlyn moans into Ali's folds as she can feel herself on the brink. Ashlyn moves to suck on her clit, moving her hand down to let her thumb shallowly enter her. Ali spreads her legs even more to allow her more room to work as she starts to tighten around her. 

"I'm coming, Ash", Ali gets out, her loud shout muffled by her face being buried in the woman above her. Ashlyn stops thinking about her own pending orgasm and focuses solely on getting Ali off. She can feel the instant it happens as the body under her starts shuddering and the fingers inside her start taking on a pace of their own. She lowers her head on Ali's thigh as she is getting worked over and is about to completely flood Ali's mouth. She can feel all of a sudden the fingers that were deeply buried pull out and arms wrap around her thighs and pulled tightly on top of Ali's mouth. The action itself is what tips her over the edge, moaning in the thigh below her. 

As she feels the arms start to loosen around her thighs, she wipes her mouth on the sheet and lifts off to lay her head on the pillow next to Ali. She watches as Ali uses the back of her hand to wipe off all of the wetness that had gathered on her chin. Ali shifts so she is on her side, running her hands over Ashlyn's abs, leans over to place a light kiss on her lips. "How do you know my body so well? You know exactly where to touch and how." Ashlyn looks over at her and just shrugs her shoulders while she opens her arms, inviting Ali into them. "I don't know, it's like my body just takes over."

They lay there in silence for a minute until she hears Ashlyn's quiet voice. "When are you heading back to DC?" Ali let out a long exhale, "Kyle and I are taking the ferry back in the morning. He is going to catch a train back to NY and I'm just going to head to Logan and go standby. Hopefully I should be able to grab something. What about you?"

"I'll probably take off in the morning too, it's a long day. I have Monday off as well but have some things I need to do before a busy few weeks."

They both just laid there, thinking of the ticking countdown until they are separated again and how it will play out this time. Ashlyn keeps going back and forth in her mind of whether she should ask Ali what she keeps debating internally, "just throwing this out there but I could give you a ride back to DC, even give Kyle a ride to NY on the way, if you wanted." Ali moves up slightly on to her elbow to look a Ashlyn's face to gauge if she is just trying to be nice or genuinely wants to do this.

"Are you serious? You would do that? I know I said I wanted a ride but you don't have to do it this weekend."

Ashlyn just smiles back at her, tucking some hair behind her ear, "I wouldn't offer, Al, if I didn't mean it. It would be nice to have some company for half the trip."

A smile starts to form on Ali's face as she starts to enthusiastically nod. "Let me talk to Ky in the morning and if he is in, let's do it. I don't want to just abandon him", she says with a slight giggle.

"Sounds good to me, I would really enjoy it"

\--

The morning light starts to shine in on Ashlyn's room, stirring Ali awake. She was cuddled into the Ashlyn's side, the same way they fell asleep last night. She loved the feel of her head on Ashlyn's bare chest, right above her breast. The sheets had pooled around their waists so she was able to take in muscular curves of her abs and waist. The longer she admired it, the more she couldn't help herself. She slowly moved her hand over her stomach, gently rubbing it before her hand moved slightly up to Ashlyn's right breast. 

Ashlyn started to stir under her before understanding what was happening. She moved her head slightly which made Ali scoot her head back slightly so their eyes could meet. She moved her hand off of Ashlyn's breast as she leaned forward and gave her a soft peck on the forehead and squeezed her tighter. With sleep in her voice, Ashlyn mumbled out, "Apparently, I need to watch you like a hawk, trying to take advantage of me in my sleep."

Ali crinkles her eyes and smiles, moving her left hand that had just been caressing her breast, up to her cheek. She slowly runs her thumb over it causing Ashlyn to close her eyes, "you are so beautiful, Ash." Ali leans forward slightly and places a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. As she pulls away from the kiss, Ali's smile falters some as she realizes she needs to get up and actually pack everything. 

"I guess I should get up. I still need to talk to my brother about flying back with you. Either way, I should probably get going."

Ashlyn nodded along, she knew it was going to take Ali way longer to get packed and ready than her. "yeah, just let me know what he says and then how long. I may head over to the field in a little bit just to check everything out and refuel so we are ready to go."

Ali nods before laying her head back down in the original position, "I don't want to get up, I'm comfy." Ashlyn just squeezes her tighter, kissing the top of her head, before whispering out, "I could stay like this all day."

After another five minutes passes of cuddles and idle chatter, Ali wills herself off of Ashlyn and off the bed. Ashlyn just watches as she moves about the room, picking her clothes off the floor. "Do you want to borrow some shorts and a t-shirt to go back to your room?" Ali turns back around to face her while holding her dress and shoes, "do you have something extra, I feel weird putting this back on this morning to walk five feet down the hall." Ashlyn barely gives her time to answer before she is up digging in her bag and pulling out a Naval Academy t-shirt and a extra pair of boxers she had. She holds them up, "do you mind that it's my underwear? I promise they are clean." Ali swipes them from her hand and puts them both on, the boxers tight over her more filled out ass. 

"Well, that's a sight I could get used", Ashlyn says as she moves closer and wraps her arms around Ali's waist. Ali stands up on her tip toes to give her a kiss, telling her, "I may steal these." Ashlyn pulls back, lifts and eyebrow, before giving her a little sass back, "oh I see how it is, you barely will let me take you out on a date but you want to steal my underwear." Ali just giggles at her, "yep. This way I don't have to go on the date with you, I can just put these on and pretend you are there." Ashlyn just shakes her head at her, giving her a little slap on the ass before grabbing Ali's phone off the nightstand. 

"Do you want to put your number in there before you give it back to me or are we good?"

A small smile comes to Ashlyn's face, realizing that finally Ali will have her number, hoping that also means, she will get hers. She isn't exactly sure where things are between them, she is just assuming it's friends or maybe even friends with benefits? She hopes they can at least be friends…. 

"Here you go", Ashlyn hands the phone back to her, dimpled smile and all. Ali takes a look at her phone, types something out and throws it in her purse. 

"Alright, let me go talk to Kyle and I'll be back in a few", Ali leans forward and gives her one last kiss. 

After Ali leaves, she goes to pick her clothes up off the floor and start packing before jumping in the shower. As she goes to check the pockets for her wallet and phone. She clicks her phone and sees she has a message from a numbers she doesn't know. As she reads the text that came from a Virginia number, a smile comes to her face. She holds the phone up to her chest and just closes her eyes. 

_Not getting these back until you come to DC_

Meanwhile, down the hall, Ali opens the door to see Kyle still laying in bed going through his phone. "Hi Queen, nice outfit." Ali just rolls her eyes at him, throwing her dress, shoes and purse on her still made bed and then climbs into the end of the bed with Kyle. 

"So I have a question for you and be honest", she pauses as he sits his phone down on his lap. "What's up, bb?"

"Ashlyn offered to fly us back in her plane this morning. She said she could drop you off in NY and then fly me to DC. I said I would check with you, but obviously it sounds much nicer than having to get the ferry and sitting at the airport all day."

Kyle just looks at her, taking in what she is offering. "Do you trust her enough to get in a plane with her? I mean, have you ever been in one of her planes."

Ali just rolls her eyes, "Kyle, she flies 150 people around multiple times a day, all over the country. I trust her with my life."

That statement makes Kyle raise both of his eyebrows, "have we made some progress between last night and tonight."

Ali shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know", letting out a sigh. "She is definitely chipping away at my hardened exterior. We exchanged numbers, and at some point, we are going to out on a date." Kyle claps his hands like a seal, "yay! We are making progress."

"You are such a weirdo. It doesn’t change anything, it just means, I'm not opposed to seeing her again." Kyle leans forward and pats her foot, "I think you will be happy to start with that. Proud of you."

"So are you in for the flight? I need to go tell her."

"Sure, let's do it. I mean, at least we would go down together."

Ali goes back down the hall and knocks lightly on the door but there is no answer. She slowly opens it and hears the shower going. She finds a notepad on the nightstand along with a pen and writes a simple note that she leaves on top of her phone. 

_We are in! Let me know when we need to leave. xx_

\---

An hour later, Kyle and Ali pull up in their cab to the area of the airport Ashlyn had directed them too. She sees them arrive and runs out to greet them at the door. "Hey, glad you guys decided to come", she smiles and holds the door open for them. She is surprised that Ali leans in gives her a kiss on the cheek as she passes by her. 

"I'm just finishing up on these flight plans and we should be able to take off in about 10-15 minutes. There is a restaurant over if you want to grab something to eat or drink."

As Ali and Kyle are grabbing a coffee, Ali is just watching Ashlyn, work through some documents, using a calculator on the table. Kyle pulls her out of her trance, "you know you are staring, right?"

"what? Oh, sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me, just making you aware."

About that time, they see Ashlyn stand up and look over in their direction. She makes eyes with Ali and nods in their direction, indicating she is ready to go. They all grab their bags and head out to the plane a few feet from the door. 

"Jesus, Ash, this is a beautiful plane", Ali declares as they get close enough to this brand new Cessna TTX. Ashlyn chuckles to herself, "it should be, it cost a fortune. Six of us went in on this one, but I will have to say, it's amazing."

Ashlyn opens up the doors and starts loading up the luggage before helping Kyle and Ali in. Once everyone is situated, she turns to Kyle, "I was going to fly into Teterboro for you, does that work? It looks to be about 10 miles or so into the city so you should be able to grab an Uber there fairly easy."

Kyle nods, "that's perfect, thanks again for letting me tag along."

"Don't worry about it. You are Ali's brother, you are welcome anytime."

Ashlyn turns back around and puts on a snapback that was up on the dash before putting on her headset. She reaches over and pats Ali's leg, "you ready?" Ali nods enthusiastically, reaching down and squeezing her hand. Ashlyn fires up the plane as she flips switches, testing the flaps and making sure all of the gauges look right. Everyone has their headset's on so they can communicate with each other easily. 

Again, Ali is just in awe of how natural Ashlyn feels in the plane. She is calling the tower and getting their final signoff. The plane rumbles to the end of the runway before turning and starting to pick up speed. Ali looks back and forth between the front of the plane and watching Ashlyn. As they start to lift off the ground, she looks over and sees the deep muscles of Ashlyn's forearms, leading to her strong biceps. Continuing to climb, Ashlyn continues to look everything over as they start to leave the cover of land and are now flying over the water. 

"This is amazing", Ali breathes out. Ashlyn just looks over at her and smiles, before looking back, "how you holding up, Kyle?" He leans forward as much as he can with his seat belt on, "this is so cool."

They are almost in NY before they know it, taking usually only about an hour. She built into the route an extended fly around of the city so they could take it in from a far before coming into land. She can barely hear over the noise, but can pick up Ali's voice, "oh my god, this is unbelievable." That right there was worth everything, the extra time it took to make this pit stop, the additional landing fees and fuel costs. Listening to Ali talk in awe of what she was looking at and hearing the brother and sister pointing different things out to each other, that was everything. 

About ten minutes later, they have landed and are pulling up to the terminal building for Kyle to get out. Ashlyn shuts down everything and moves to get out so she can get Kyle and his luggage out. Before Ali makes her way over to say goodbye, Kyle takes the initiative and wraps Ashlyn in his arms. It makes Ashlyn smile, especially when she hears him say, "thank you for including me, you didn't have too. Also, give her time, she'll come around." She pats his back before they release and simply says, "thank you."

Ashlyn steps back and let's Ali and Kyle have their goodbyes. She has walked over to Ali's door, waiting to help her back in when she is ready. A few minutes later, Ali comes around the back of the plane with a shy smile on her face. She steps close to Ashlyn and wraps her arms around her neck, "thank you for all of this, this may have earned you a second date." Her dimpled smile appears as she wraps her arms around Ali's waist pulling her in for a short kiss. They pull apart and she helps Ali in before closing the door and walking around to get in. She gets comfortable again, putting her hat on, headset, before asking Ali, "I have us going into Manassas. I didn't want to deal with Dulles and figured you didn't want to either. Hope that works for you? I ordered a car service to meet you there so you don’t have to worry about figuring out a ride."

Ali rests her hand on Ashlyn's forearm, "you didn't have to do that, but that's perfect." Ashlyn just gives her a small smile and pats her thigh, "ready to give this a whirl again."

Over the hour long flight, Ashlyn takes the time to point out a few different things as they fly over. She hadn't told Ali, but she was built in a roundabout way of seeing DC from the air. Like NY, airspace is highly restricted so she can't get as close as she would like too. "Ash, is that DC?", pointing out to front right of the plane. "Yep, I thought you might like to see your hometown from the sky. Figure most of the time you are probably working and don't get that opportunity."

As they land and pull up close to the terminal, Ashlyn starts shutting down everything as she will refuel here so she can fly the rest of the way home without stopping. She starts to put her headset on the dash, along with her hat, she settles back in her seat, turning her head to brunette who is looking back at her. Something's different though. The lightness of the day seems to have disappeared and there almost seems to be sadness in her eyes. 

"Hey, talk to me. What's going on?"

Ali looks down, fidgets with her fingers before looking back up, "I was expecting to have this fun time at Jessica's wedding and be happy to be back home. Right now, I just feel like I could stay in this weekend longer, I'm not ready for it to end."

Ashlyn leans over and cups her face, thumb tracing over her cheek, "I feel the same way. I can't even tell you what went through my head when I heard your laugh when I walked in that room. I'm going to take this at whatever you want it to be. When you ready for us to plan that date, you text me and let me know. I'm going to give you your space, even though it's the last thing I want to do. This is on your terms, ok?"

Ali nods, "thank you for that. I promise I'll reach out, I just need to check my schedule and figure some shit out." With that, Ali leans over and connects with Ashlyn's lips, running her hand through the back of her hair. They both deepen the kiss as much as they can in the cockpit of the small plane. After a few minutes, they pull away knowing they just need to rip the band aid off and get out of the plane. 

"Thank you for this, for everything this weekend."

"Anytime, Al, anytime."

With that Ashlyn jumps out of the plane and runs over to help Ali out. She reaches in and grabs her luggage and pulls it behind her inside the small terminal. She lifts up her finger, indicating for Ali to wait as she goes over and talks to someone about fueling the plane. Ashlyn comes back to meet her, intertwining their fingers as she leads them out the front door. She sees an Escalade parked over to the side and verifies that is her car. They slowly walk towards it while the driver jumps out and grabs the luggage to put in the back. He can tell this may be an extended goodbye so he just gets back in the drivers seat and waits. 

"I'll see you soon, ok?", Ashlyn promises her as she is holding Ali in her arms. She feels Ali nod in her chest before she pulls back and places a light kiss on the top of her head. 

"I gotta get back in there, will you text me and let me know you got back to your place ok?" Again, Ali simply nods and asks the same of Ashlyn. She opens the door and helps Ali and gives her one last smile before closing the door. 

The hardest thing she has had to do in a long time is walking away from that car and not turning back around. She finishes up her paperwork and pays for the fuel before making her way back out to the plane. As she is getting situated, she checks her phone one last time before leaving. She has one message from the newly saved number.

_I'll get my head straight, you are worth it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry that was so long. I really just wanted the whole trip to be one chapter. 
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> I'm going back and focusing on You so probably the last chapter here for awhile. I need to get back in touch with my emotional side. lol.


	4. Well, This a Suprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know by now what to expect.

\------- three months later -------

As Ali sits at Founding Farmer, she scrolls through Instagram, looking at the latest motivating quotes to inspire her, houses to dream of, and memes to laugh at. She's brought out of her technology fueled haze by Jessica throwing her purse down and announcing "ugh, I fucking hate DC traffic." Ali just laughs as she sets her phone down and gets up to give her best friend a hug. 

"I can't believe this is the first time I've seen you since the wedding", Ali mentions after taking a sip of bloody mary she had already ordered. 

"Well, it isn't for the lack of trying so don't blame this on me honey."

Between the 'faux' honeymoon and their recent flight schedules, which they hadn't been lucky to have been paired together, finding any time at all to see each other has been few and far between. They were able to find a two hour window before Ali was flying out to Chicago later this evening and Jessica flying out tomorrow for New York City.

"Sooo, how was the faux honeymoon? Am I going to be an auntie in nine months?

"God, I hope not yet! Not even sure I would call it that since we just stayed up at Martha's Vineyard an extra week, having sex in every square inch of the house and laying out at the beach trying to forget about reality."

"Yeah, yeah, must be nice but you don't need to brag about it."

The waiter comes over and they both order a breakfast item off the brunch menu. Ali switches over to water since she is flying later but Jessica orders another bloody mary. After taking her initial sip, Jessica looks to call out Ali on her last comment. 

"Speaking about bragging… you still need to fill me on you and Ash. The only thing I got out of you is that she flew you and Kyle home and then your random ass cryptic answers about everything else."

Ali shakes her head and raises an eyebrow at her best friend, sighing, "Fine. What do you want to know? Will I get out of the firing squad if I just tell you, yes, we slept together again, twice", holding up her fingers for emphasis. "It was amazing, better than San Diego, if that was even possible. She's gorgeous, sweet, nice, thoughtful, and more. Everything any sane person would look for in a partner."

"Wow, I guess that may get you out of the firing squad but I only have two questions then. Why have you only text her twice since the wedding and why are you not even allowing yourself to entertain the idea of being that sane person?"

Ali just deadpans to Jessica, "you know why. As much as my body definitely wants to, my mind is winning out right now." She runs her hand through her hair and looks down at the table "I told her I would try but after I came down from the high of the weekend, I just , I don't know, I got scared."

"So, I'm not going to act like I don't know cause let's face it, Craig tells me everything like a good husband should."

Ali rolls her eyes, "you have him so whipped."

Jessica blows on her nails and swipes them on her sweater, "years of training, dear, years and years of training."

Ali giggles before looking over the top of her glass before she sets it down, "well, don't be a tease… spill!"

"Oh now she cares", Jessica mumbles before taking another sip of her bloody mary. 

"Stahhhppp it. Has she said something to Craig about me?"

"Maybeeee. Maybeee not."

"God damn it, Jessica. Tell me", Ali says as she throws a sugar packet at her across the table. 

"Fine, fine, no need to assault me, Jesus."

Ali just smirks back, knowing she would get her way in the end.

"He talked to her last week on the phone, since we are planning a thing, and he told me she asked him how you were doing."

"Well, what did he say?!"

Jessica laughs at how Ali pretends not to give a shit, but obviously does. "He said you were doing good, he assumes. We hadn't seen you since the wedding since we have all been busy. He may have mentioned we were getting together today, I'm not even sure."

"Well, how is she? Has she been flying a lot? One of these days I would just assume I would end up on the same crew as her but I guess after what, almost nine months since we first met, that has yet to happen."

"That's because she is a pilot that has way more seniority than all of us and gets to pick the fun routes to fly. Maybe if you actually talked to her she could hook you up."

Rolling her eyes, "yeah, cause the airline would give two shits that two of it's employees are fucking anytime they are near each other so let's put them on the same routes."

"I always forget how dramatic you can be over girls."

"whatever, can you continue…"

"She told Craig that after the weekend, she really thought she would have heard from you more. She said when she dropped you off in DC that you were going to try to figure things out and maybe see if anything could be there. You promised her that date, you know."

Sighing, "I know. I text her when I got home that night, just to thank her again for the ride and to make sure she made it back to Florida ok. I mean, she text back that she really enjoyed the weekend and getting to know me better. I don't know. I didn't like that it made me feel things. The whole weekend did, so I just had to shut it down before getting unrealistic expectations and like always, being let down by them."

"Alex, first off, you deserve it and deserve something like that right now. Are you listening to yourself? For fuck's sake, you are completely self-sabotaging this before you even give it half a chance. She likes you okay? Craig said he can tell just by the way she asks about you and tries to play it off how you haven't really talked. She's got a heart of gold and I know that you know that. The thing is, you don't even know the half of it. She would go to the ends of the earth for people she cares about and I know for one, she really, REALLY, wants to care about you."

Ali just buries her face in her hands and takes a deep breath and then groaning out loud. "Fine. What do I do?"

"Seriously? You have the woman's phone number and can easily text her and you ask what you can do?"

"I can't just randomly text her and be like 'hey, I haven't talked to you three months, how bout that date'. Yeah, that sounds great."

"You are such a wimp some times.", shaking her head. Luckily, the waiter with great timing brought out their food letting them both avoid this conversation for a few more minutes. 

Jessica is the first to speak up between bites of her half-eaten omelet. "I have a proposition… about how you can connect again with Ash."

Finishing her last bite of avocado toast, she quirks her eyebrows up, "I'm listening…"

\------ two weeks later ------

"I can't believe you talked me into this. This may possibly be the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life." Ali mumbles out as they walk down the jet way with the rest of the first class passengers.

Craig, who is walking slightly in front of her and Jessica shouts back, "oh buck up Al, I'm sure you won't be saying that later tonight."

"You are so such an ass, Craig. No more drinking for you.", Ali shouts back. 

Jessica pauses for a minute so she is even with Ali. "I am so proud of you that you are doing this.", she says grabbing her free hand. 

"Does she have any clue or is this a total ambush? I feel sick to my stomach…", Ali says with a slight panic in her eyes. 

"Well", Jessica says with a slight chuckle, "it's kinda too late now isn't"

As the three board the flight and get settled, Jessica and Ali recognize one of the first class FAs, as they come over and take their drink orders before take off. After a few minutes of chit chat about recent happenings between the group, they hear intercom come to life as the FAs start their final preparations for leaving the gate. 

"This is Captain Harris, assisted today by First Officer Jackson. We will be flying a 767 today, with an expected flight time of three hours and forty-five minutes. It looks like the current weather in Punta Cana is clear, good visibility and a balmy eighty-five degrees. We expect a fairly smooth flight today so sit back, enjoy yourselves and we will give an updated arrival time and weather update as we get closer. Flight Attendants, please prepare the cabin for take off."

As soon as Ali heard her voice come out of the intercom, she closed her eyes to take it all in. Her mind flashed back to the night of the wedding, the way Ashlyn looked at her across the room, and the way her hands felt running over her body, and the way she tasted. She unconsciously licks her lips and thinks to herself, maybe this decision won't be so bad. That is if Ashlyn isn't completely shocked and think she is a psycho. 

"Can you at least keep it in your pants until we don't have to watch again. That was painful enough the first time on the dance floor", Jessica leans across the aisle to whisper to her. Ali just opens her eyes and looks over to her friend and shrugs, "just trying to think of why this may be a good idea." Jessica pats her on her thigh, "well, at least we are making progress and got a 'may be a good idea' out of her'.", she says looking over at Craig to finish her thought. 

The girls, and Craig, manage to have a few cocktails to help loosen up. Ali doesn't really want to be drunk per say, but definitely needed something to take the edge off. As they are about thirty minutes away, the FO gets on the intercom to give the update. Ali was a little disappointed it wasn't Ash, but she knew in the back of her mind, most likely it wasn't going to be. It looks like they are starting their descent and get one last drink. All this really does is put a ticking clock in Ali's head as her own mind overrides the alcohol flowing through her veins. Jessica must see the panic starting to set in as she turns slightly in her seat to talk to her best friend. She grabs Ali's hand, trying to get her attention. Ali looks over and Jessica and can tell that Ali is silently freaking out. 

"Hey. It's going to be ok. She will be happy you are here, trust me. Ali, she likes you."

Ali's eyes look to the ceiling of the plane while she takes a deep breath, then looks down. She gives Jessica's hand a light squeeze. "I do trust you. You know that I'm not good at these type of things. All I do is second guess everything." She takes a deep breath, "God, I can't believe I am doing this", this time she says with a chuckle and smile. 

"There's my girl", Jessica says squeezing her hand again. "All of your anxiety will go away in like thirty minutes when you see her. Just take a deep breath, close your eyes and think about what ever you were thinking about before when we left and you will remember every reason why you got on the plane today." 

Ali just nods and does what she's told, closes her eyes and goes back in time. 

\--

As the plane touches down, Ashlyn brings the plane around to the handful of gates at the small airport. She has only flow in here once before, the last time the three of them did a little vacation a few years ago. As they stop short of the gate and waits for the tow to bring them in, she extends her hand out to her FO, Alan, and shakes his hand. It's the first time they have flown together and she actually liked the guy, as they had a nice flight down, chatting superficially about their lives. It's usually hit or miss. Sometimes she gets a cocky asshole who can't handle a woman Captain but most of the time she flies with someone she can get along with, at least for a few hours. 

"You know, I'm so jealous you are staying here a few days and actually going to enjoy yourself. I need to do this sometime, I would totally earn some brownie points with my wife.", he says as the tow has attached to the front wheel and has started to guide them in place. "You said your friends are coming?"

"Yeah", she says, jetting her thumb back to the plane, "my best friend and his wife are joining me. We did a spontaneous trip a few years ago and just had such a good time, surfing, relaxing, drinking. Man, sometimes it's so nice to get away from it all. They got married a few months ago so we thought this was good timing to do it again since we don't get to see each other all that much. You know, Craig's wife, Jessica, she is an FA, you might have worked with her before."

He scrunches his face, "I'll have to see her face to see if it jogs my memory. I am always shitty at remembering names." She chuckles back, "me too, bud."

Once the plane comes to a stop, they both go through their post flight procedures before Ashlyn stands to go show her face to the departing passengers. "At least when I do this in warm locations when people are going on vacation, they are happy to see me." They both just share a laugh as she puts her jacket on and opens the door. Once she gets in position outside the cockpit door, she see's Jessica first and then Craig sitting next to her, three rows back. A big smile comes to her face, knowing she's in the final countdown of being on vacation. The cabin door opens and the passengers slowly start moving out of the plane with Ashlyn, giving her obligatory smile and 'thanks for flying with us.' She notices Jessica as the next passenger and decides to turn on the charm, keeping it professional of course. 

"Hope you enjoy your stay here in a paradise, ma'am."

"Oh, Captain, I'm not going to be the only one", Jessica says with a wink.

Ashlyn just shakes her head, knowing that Craig and her are definitely going to treat this as a mini honeymoon and she will be third wheeling for most of the trip. Craig is right behind her and decides to be the smart ass she knows and loves. "A little shaky with the landing there, Captain."

She rolls her eyes with a slight shake of the head. The FAs up front know they all know each other so they share a little laugh at the interactions. As Ashlyn's eyes move back to the next person coming by, she feels her eyes are betraying her. Her breath hitches slightly, unnoticeable to anyone else around her.

"Ali?", she breathes out as Ali turns the corner to leave the plane. Ali just gives a little smile while biting her lip as she is walking by and hurries off the plane.

Ashlyn turns her head as she steps on to the jet way, her mind starts racing, she can't even focus on the other passengers. Her face can't hide the confusion wondering, 'Was that really her' she asks herself. Finally she shakes herself out of it and gives smiles and thanks to the remaining passengers. All that's running through her mind is how the fuck can she get off this plane. These people are always so damn slow. Chop chop people! 

"FINALLY", she mutters as the last passengers step through the threshold of the door. She turns back in the cockpit and sees that Alan has actually done a lot of the work she usually has to help with and thinks how this guy is a godsend. The pilots and the rest of the crew are ready to disembark after about ten minutes. Ashlyn really just hopes that they all waited at the gate for her, she really can't wait another minute to find out what's going on. Ashlyn puts her hat on grabs her briefcase and suitcase as she leads the crew off the plane. As they are exiting the jet way she sees the three of them standing off to the side and can't hide the smile that's coming to her face. She is trying to bite the inside of her cheek to not giveaway how happy she is about this development. 

"Well, this is a surprise."

A smile starts coming to Ali's face when she see's the way Ashlyn is looking at her. "They talked to me into it…. Good surprise?", she says as she shrugs her shoulders. Ashlyn leans forward and quickly kisses her cheek, making sure to whisper, "best surprise."

As they all make their way to baggage claim, Craig and Ashlyn start chatting about the 'epic waves' they had last time and how they can't wait to surf again. As Jessica and Ali walk a step or two behind, Jessica leans over, "I told you she would be happy…" Ali just smiles at her and nods her head. Jessica asks, "and how are you doing now that you saw that smile when she walked over to you?"

"happy"

Jessica just does a small fist pump knowing her plans to help move this courtship along are progressing nicely. Ali just looks over at her and shakes her head, "I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?"

"nope"

As the four stand around the baggage area waiting for their boards to come out, Ashlyn moves to stand next to Ali and lightly taps their shoulders together. "So what do I owe the honor? How did they not tell me this was happening? This was all Jessica wasn't?"

Ali just laughs at all the confusion and attempts to answer her questions, "Jessica wasn't thrilled that we hadn't really talked since the wedding so she decided conning me into coming and surprising you was the best course of action." Ashlyn just laughs, "of course she did." After a few seconds of silence, she continues. "Well, if it's any consolation, I'm happy she did." Ali turns to look at her while tucking her hair behind her ear, "me too."

They all make small talk as they are riding the shuttle to the resort. Ali was excited when Jessica showed her the place online last week and saw the resort consisted of mostly beach front villas, each with their own pools. She mentioned that usually they all stay in one but Ashlyn was adamant they have their own because as she said, 'I'm not listening to you screw the entire weekend when I am not even remotely getting any'. What Ali didn't know was that Jessica told Ashlyn, she could solve that issue by actually reaching out to Ali. They were talking over FaceTime so Jessica watched her shake her head, telling her, "I told Ali I was following her lead on this. If she doesn't want to text or talk to me, I'm not going to push the issue, no matter how bad I want too."

For most of the ride, Ali was distracted on how Ashlyn had taken off her hat and jacket once she got on the shuttle. She had opted for a short sleeve, white button down shirt since she would have a jacket on around any of the passengers. Ali just looked across from her while Ashlyn was talking to Craig, taking her all in. Her eyes running over her sleeve and muscular arms, up to her face. She still can't get over how good she looks with that short hair. After she had taken her hat off, she had run her fingers through it try and get it back to it's original shape but it wasn't quite there. She gets busted while she is staring when Ashlyn does a side glance over at her, a small smile coming to her face followed by a wink. Ali blushes slightly, smiles back, and goes to looking out the window while Jessica goes on about some shops she wants to go to in town. 

Jessica had convinced Ali not to book a room since she can just stay with Ashlyn and if worse comes to worse, she will stay with her and Craig. Ali wonders at what point Ashlyn is going to find out about this plan. If she is being honest with herself, she knows Ashlyn won't care and would probably jump at the chance but it still feels awfully presumptuous. As the shuttle pulls up to resort, I guess the time is now to find out how well this plan is going to work. As they are getting off the shuttle, Ash lets Ali go ahead and get off, telling her she will grab her bag. Craig has already gotten a bell hop to start unloading the surfboards from the back so she grabs Ali's bag and hands it to her after she had stepped off, jumping back on tograb her own briefcase and bag.

They head into the registration area, following behind Craig and Jessica. Ashlyn must be reading Ali's mind as she asks, "are you staying with Craig and Jessica or did you get your own place?"

Ali lets out a deep breath and slows down her pace. "So, Jessica all but forced me not to book anything so I guess I'm staying with them…", she lets the last part hang out there but it doesn't take long for Ashlyn to jump right on to it.

"You can stay with me, I mean if you want to…"

When Ali doesn't answer immediately, Ashlyn continues, "I don't want to assume, I mean there are two bedrooms so, um, it really wouldn't be an issue." Ali stops walking and places a light touch on Ashlyn's forearm to stop her before answering her, "The only thing I assume is if I stay with you, it will be with you, in your bed, hopefully in your arms." Ali doesn't know where the confidence is coming from but it must be working as Ashlyn's nervous face gives way to a dimpled smile, answering her, "I love that assumption. Please stay with me." Ali just gives her a smile, the tip of her tongue sticking through her teeth as she nods. Ashlyn really wishes she had a free hand to hold hers right now. As they walk up the counter, they both are thinking the same thing… this is going to be an amazing trip. 

\------

Once check-in is complete, They walk to their own villas, luckily, they are right next to each other. Craig manages to make them all shake their headsw when he announces, "thank god for no common walls."

"Whatever, you wish." Ashlyn says over her shoulder as her and Ali continue to walk to their door, about hundred feet away. Ashlyn slides the key into the key card reader and props the door open for Ali to walk in first.  
"Wow, this is beautiful", Ali breathes out as she takes it all in. As soon as she walked in the door she was greeted with floor to ceiling glass sliding doors across the whole back of their place which showed off their pool and the deep blue waters of the ocean. It looks like they can all open to let the sea breeze flow through the common areas and she assumes the bedrooms as well. She walks a few more feet in, leaving her bag next to the couch and stepping closer to the doors. A few moments later she feels a pair of strong arms come around her mid-section and she just relaxes into them, in her ear she hears, "you are so beautiful." 

Ali closes her eyes, letting her body feel the pilot's breath on her neck and the words falling from her mouth. It's in this moment she wonders why she is so stubborn sometimes. Here this amazing woman isn't being standoffish because she hasn't been in touch with her, she's literally embracing the moment. Ali lets her hands and arms wrap around Ashlyn's so she can feel the strong and fit body closing the small space that existed between the two. Almost like muscle memory, an electric current runs through her veins. She does what she's wanted to do for the last three months. Turning in Ashlyn's arms, Ali moves her arms up to Ashlyn's neck, thumbs running over the bottom of her shaved hair. She pulls them closer together until their lips touch, gently and soft. Slowly they start to move in unison, both deepening the kiss, tongues touching, soft moans coming from both of them. They eventually break apart and are just looking into each other's eyes. 

It's Ashlyn that speaks up first, "I missed this, I missed you."

Ali lets a smile come to her face, "I missed you too. Sorry I haven't been better with everything since the wedding."

Ashlyn just shakes her head, "hey, it's ok. It is what it is but what matters now is that you are here. We are here, together."

Ali just nods and leans up to place another soft kiss on Ashlyn's lips before she slips out of her embrace. "I can't believe we have this place all to ourselves, do you mind if I take a look around?"

Ashlyn just shrugs her shoulders, "yeah, let's go a take a look. This one is different than the one we were in last time."

With that, Ali reaches down and interlaces her hand with Ashlyn's, who gives it a small squeeze as she follows Ali through the kitchen area and into the bedroom. She drops her hand while she walks over to take in the view from here. "This is just stunning, I'm glad I threw all caution to the wind and tagged along uninvited." She hears a laugh behind her so she turns and see Ashlyn sitting on the end of the bed taking her shoes off. She looks up to Ali standing in front of her before saying, "you are never not invited. Consider yourself officially invited to anywhere I'll ever be."

Ali steps a few feet closer and in between Ashlyn's legs as she finally sits back upright. Ali places both hands on her shoulders and just looks down at the amazing woman in front of her. Ashlyn looks up as her hands go to Ali's waist, telling her, "You are entering dangerous territory right now", hands starting run up her sides. 

"Why are you saying it's dangerous.? It's only dangerous if you don't think I like it or want it, and trust me, I like it and I definitely want it" As Ali is finishing her sentence, smile on her face, she moves to straddle Ashlyn whose hands have instinctively fallen to her ass, pulling her close. Ashlyn is trying her hardest not to give in so easily but she is losing her resolve. She leans forward to capture Ali's lips, this time the complete opposite of the kiss they shared out in the living room. This one is a passion filled kiss, three months in the making. Ali's right hand moves to the back of Ashlyn's head, holding her in place as she feels her fingers tips digging into her hips. As their tongues fight for dominance, Ashlyn moves her hands up and takes off Ali's shirt and throws it behind her. Ali starts to undo her tie and when she has it off, she breaks the kiss and leans into her ear, "do you have any more of these with you?" and softly bites her earlobes. Ashlyn moans, internally processing what she hope she means when she is asking that. All Ashlyn can do is run her hands up the skin on her back, breathing out, "yeah, I have another one so I can tie you up to these bed posts." The fact that Ashlyn just read her mind makes her grind even further down into her and let out a moan. As she is starting to undo the buttons on her shirt, they hear a pounding at the door. 

"OK, enough!! We are hungry, get dressed!"

They both just put their foreheads into each other and try to catch their breath. "Fucking timing", Ashlyn breathes out. Ali just giggles and pulls back to give her a chaste kiss as she climbs off of her. "Don't worry though, we still have three days to get our fill."

Ashlyn stands up from the bed and moves in close to Ali, telling her, "the only thing I can wait to fill is you later tonight." Ali just moans at her words and they forget their friends are at the door and start to kiss each other until they are in a foggy haze. Again, they hear pounding.

"Seriously?! Are you guys really going at it?"

They both just laugh and shake their heads as Ali bends down to put her top back on. "I'll let them in if you want to change into something else." Ashlyn just smiles at her and nods. Ashlyn can hear the door open and can barely make out Ali's words. 

"If you two don't fucking get it under control… You are the ones that just got married, shouldn't you be sequestered in your room?"

Jessica just shrugs as they come in, "nah, we are already an old married couple. We are hungry and that takes precedence. Where's Ash?"

Ali just points over to the bedroom ,"changing out of her uniform, which speaking of, I need to get out of my jeans."

Craig looks at her confused, "what have you guys been doing the last ten minutes? Why aren't you changed yet?"

"Well, we were getting there when you so rudely interrupted", Ashlyn says as she walks out in a tank top, board shorts, and flip flops. Ali turns around to look at her, smiling, taking in every square inch of her. That's also when she notices she has another new leg tattoo. "Jesus Ash, is that another new tattoo on your leg? Do you just get them like every three months." Ashlyn just laughs as she moves her briefcase out of the middle of the room and over to the side. "Yeah, what can I say, after the wedding I went straight to the tattoo shop? Well, maybe not right after, but I had been planning to get this so it was about a month and a half ago."

Craig steps forward to look at it, "man, it looks better than the pictures you sent me. It's amazing." With Craig's comment, Ali feels something… a pang of jealousy, hurt, embarrassment that she had exiled herself from Ashlyn and she wasn't able to be part of her every day life, even something as little as this. 

"Yeah, it healed up nicely. I just wanted something different than a standard military tattoo and we both gave up a lot during our tours, anything but standard. I don’t know, sometimes I want to tangible reminder of it all." Craig nods in understanding, Ali just stares at her wanting to know more. 

Ashlyn breaks the moment since she doesn't want to say anything further about any of that right now, "alright, now who said they are hungry?!"

After Ali changes into her bathing suit, covered by a tank top and pair of short shorts, they all make their way to the main pool area and decide to eat there today. As they are looking at the menu before sitting down, Ashlyn felt something on her back and realized it was Ali on her left hand side trying to get a glimpse of the menu. What she felt though was Ali's right hand lightly running over the small of her back. It was something so intimate and something that happens with couples. She isn't ready to ask or push, she just wants to enjoy these little moments that may not mean much to someone else, but mean the world to her. She moves her left hand back, under her outstretched arm, wrapping around Ali's waist to pull her closer to see. They all agree this is fine enough for a quick lunch and sit down and try to plan out the rest of their day. 

During lunch they decided they would just go to the beach in front of their villas to hang out. Ashlyn and Craig want to try and go to a little further down on the beach tomorrow morning to surf while high tide is coming in. 

As they are laying out their towels down on the beach after lunch, Ali steps to one side and pulls her tank top off and shorts, tucking them in her bag. Ashlyn completely forgot what she was doing and just froze, her eyes shamelessly raking over her body. She had obviously seen it before, but something about her being in this small bikini, all of her muscles and curves accentuated in the right places. 

"Dude, you are drooling", Craig says over to her, loud enough though so every one can hear. 

Ali is actually the one that speaks up before Ashlyn gets the opportunity, "She's earned the right. Maybe you should start staring at your wife the way Ash stares at me." She flips her hair over her shoulders, looking at Ash, "you joining me?", as she saunters down to the water. Ashlyn just mumbles under her breath, "so fucking beautiful." 

Once Ali started wading in the water, she turned around and could see Ashlyn taking her tank top off, wearing a bikini top and her board shorts, strutting toward her. This time it's Ali that is staring, mouth open slightly as she watches her abs tighten with every step, that fucking v-cut sticking out of her extremely low hanging shorts. She is brought out of her daze when she notices that Ashlyn has started running toward her with a sinister look in her eye. Ali turns to try and get further in the water before she is attacked by Ashlyn, who is intent on wanting to do something to her. She doesn't make it very far before Ashlyn has picked her up, in both her arms, and is wading into the water with her. It's times like this when Ali realizes how strong she is. They are both just looking at each other, large smiles on their faces before Ali says to her, "if I'm going in, you are too." Ashlyn wiggles her eyebrows at her, "whatever you want baby." About three seconds later, Ashlyn turns so her back is to the ocean and when they are waist deep, just falls backwards, taking Ali with her. 

They both are submerged instantly and once they surface, are laughing and giggling, running their hands through their own hair to get it off their faces. They aren't very deep in the water, enough where they could stand if they want to, but are able to keep their heads be above the water. Ali swims over to Ashlyn and instinctually wraps her legs around her mid-section, Ashlyn's arms wrapped around her waist. Their bodies aren't really pressed into each other, leaving a little space in between. Ali speaks up first, as her hands move from Ashlyn's shoulders up to behind her neck where they clasp. 

"I would say I forgot how good your body looked as you were walking into the ocean, but it's not like I haven't thought about it."

"Oh yeah, so you have thought about my body? When do those thoughts run through your mind", Ashlyn responds, bring their bodies a little closer together. 

"Quite frequently actually, but especially when I'm lying in bed late at night, aching to be touched."

"Hmmm, is that so. Do you do anything about that ache?"

"I don't think that’s something I should tell you. Some things should be left as a mystery?", Ali says with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, would it make a difference that I think about running my hands all over your body when I'm lying in bed, all alone.", Ashlyn says, licking her lips at the end, watching Ali's eyes drop to them. Ali starts to feel Ashlyn's right hand unwrap from around her waist, slowly moving her up left side. Unexpectedly, she feels that same hand move over her breast, fitting all of it in her palm. Ali bites her bottom lip, doing her best to keep her eyes open, thankful that only her neck and face are above the water. Ashlyn continues as she lightly squeezes her, "yeah, I think how your breasts fit perfectly in my hand and my mouth, when my tongue runs around your nipple.", lightly squeezing it between her thumb and forefinger. 

Ali's legs grip a little tighter around Ashlyn, completely and unabashedly turned on. "Do you run your own hands over your breasts, wishing they were mine?"

Ashlyn's eyes are starting to feel hooded and heavy, "I do. Then I run my hands down my stomach and into my boxers, letting my fingers discover the wetness that happened because I was thinking about you." As she says that, her right hand had slowly moved down Ali's stomach and into her bikini bottoms. Watching for any sign to stop, she doesn't find any and continues to run her fingers past Ali's clit and finds her thick wetness, that is in abundance. 

This time though, Ali can't keep her eyes open as a quiet moans escapes her lips. She decides she want's to play along now since she knows exactly where this is headed. "When I do that, I tease myself with two fingers before I push them slowly inside of myself, like you did to me the last time I saw you. I love the feel of your long fingers, slowly making me yours."

Ashlyn's bites her bottom lip as she does what Ali is describing, pushing the two fingers that have slowly been going up and down through Ali's folds and up to her clit while she was talking. Ali can't stand it anymore and her head drops to Ashlyn's forehead. She wants more than anything to throw her head back and ride her fingers with abandon but they are at a public beach, with their friends less than a 100 yards away. Ali barely hears it over the waves and the lapping water, but can hear Ashlyn mumble, "fuck, you are so hot right now. Do you think you can come out here for me." Ali can't talk, so she just nods her head a little and just whispers, "close." Ashlyn lets out a deep breath as she slowly is pulling and pushing her fingers into the brunette, rubbing her clit every time they come out. 

Having not even been touched, Ashlyn feels like she is on the verge of coming herself. She wants to see Ali come undone though, in the water, in her nirvana, "when I'm close to coming Ali, when my fingers are deep in me or I'm rubbing my clit, I think about how you are the only one that has made me come so hard, losing myself in you. Baby, you are the only one I have thought about since our first night. But you know what always makes me come so fast, thinking about your mouth on me, your tongue running through me. I can't wait for you to do that to me later. I can't wait to come in your mouth"

Her words are having the desired affect on Ali as she moves the little bit she can without making it completely obvious but she can no longer keep her distance. She aggressively takes Ashlyn's mouth onto hers, driving her tongue deep inside as she feels her orgasm about to break through. Ashlyn can feel Ali tightening around her fingers so she makes sure to move her palm to rub her clit, bringing her up and back down again in a matter of seconds. When Ali comes, she knows she completely flooded over Ashlyn's fingers, like she had been storing that up since the last time they were together.

As her body starts to shake, Ashlyn slowly removes the her fingers, turning their bodies so they aren't parallel with the shore. She puts the fingers inside Ali's mouth and lets her taste herself which makes her want Ashlyn even more. Once she had pulled her fingers out of Ali, Ashlyn moves to give her a soft, sweet, kiss, tasting what she definitely be having later. Ali finally is able to find her words, "God, Ashlyn. That felt so fucking good. Promise we can do that again before we leave?"

"Whatever you want, baby. I'll do whatever you want", Ashlyn says as she leans forward and kisses her forehead. Ali pulls back a little to look into her eyes, "You'll do whatever I want? Then I have a proposition…"

"Let's hear it", Ashlyn says with a smile.

"I want to cash in on that date tomorrow night. Me and you, you can pick whatever you want to do."

"Well, that you don't have to ask me twice. I'll look into some things and let you know what time I'll be by to pick you up tomorrow. It's a date.", she says, biggest dimpled smile Ali is pretty sure she has ever seen. 

Ali smiles back just as big, nodding in agreement but decides to move back to what they were doing before, "I was going to say we should go up and feel the wrath of our friends but I kinda want to feel you come undone in my hands right now."

"Again, pretty sure you don't have to ask me twice", as she grabs Ali's right forearm from around her neck, slowly directing her into her board shorts. Even thought they are in the ocean, Ali can instantly feel how wet Ashlyn is and knows she won't last long. Ali moves her two fingers onto Ashlyn's clit and starts to gently rub her in circles, finding exactly where her pleasure point is. Once she discovered what is making her squirm, she starts to move her fingers up and down, every now and then letting just her finger tips slide inside of her. 

"Fuck, Ali, I'm so close.", Ashlyn can barely get out of her mouth, as Ali focuses on one spot in particular that is driving her insane. "Oh god, right there", she whispers out as she slowly comes undone, her hands grasping Ali's waist tightly. Ali leans down and gives her a little peck on the lips before adding, "you weren't kidding, you were close. That might be a record."

"Very funny but seriously, I almost came getting you off so I knew it wasn't going to take long."

"Well, tonight my mouth will be on you so I might need to make you last a little longer since I love how you taste..", Ali says as she starts to untangle herself from around Ashlyn. Their hands are still connected, as they slowly move apart, Ashlyn smirks before replying, "oh you can stay down there all night, no complaints for me."

Ali just lifts an eyebrow up at her, "oh really? Challenge accepted."

After swimming around for a few minutes and playing in the smaller waves, Ashlyn and Ali walk up the beach to where Jessica and Craig are having cocktails, flipping through some magazines.

Jessica notices them getting closer and lays the magazine down on her lap. "Well, well, well, we all good now, get that out of our system?"

Ali's brow furrows a little asking, "going for a swim? Yeah it was actually really nice." 

"Seriously Alex? Not like I was trying to watch but you two were totally getting each other off out there. Trust me, been there, done that, definitely know the signs."

Ali just looks over at her as she goes to sit down on her towel, before she lays down and sasses back, "trust me, whatever might have just happened out there was probably 100x better than what you've ever done."

Ashlyn just smirks and snickers as she goes to sit on her towel next to Ali. As she lays down, she lifts both hands in the air and shouts "spirit fingers", wiggling her fingers as both girls giggle. 

"I hate you both", Jessica replies, sticking out her tongue at them as they all laugh. Finally about a minute later, Craig chimes in, "so does this show happen every day at 2pm? Just want to make sure I plan my day accordingly." This time, the two ladies laying down just extend their middle fingers into the air. 

\-----

A couple of hours later, the foursome head back up to their villas to start showering and getting ready for dinner. There is a local place that Jessica, Craig, and Ashlyn liked to go to the last time they were here so they are making sure to go on their first night. As Ali walks into their villa first, she doesn't go much further than a hallway table to lay her bag down before Ashlyn walks over and wraps her arms around waist, rests her chin on Ali's shoulder and just sighs. Ali leans her head back till it hits Ashlyn's shoulder and turns her head slightly to look at her. 

"What's that sigh for?"

Ashlyn just sighs again before giving Ali her answer, "I don't know. I think I'm still kind of in shock you are here."

Ali reaches around Ashlyn, so her hands are wrapped around her back, still looking straight ahead. "To be honest, I am a little too. This so isn't me and the type of thing I do."

"I really don't know if I believe that…", Ashlyn says as she picks her head up slightly to look back at Ali. 

"And why is that?"

This time, Ashlyn stands up straight and turns Ali around so they are facing each other. "Do you not remember our first night together? I'm not sure which part of 'this' you don't normally do, but I'm going to assume, going up to someone's room the first day you meet them to have sex isn't really your thing either."

A smile comes to Ali's face as she giggles. "It must be you then. You make me do all sorts of things I don't normally do… Like get fucked in front of their best friends in the ocean. There's a prime example."

Ashlyn lets out a hearty laugh, "yeah Al, but not complaining about that one either. In fact, I can't complain about anything you done."

Ali's smile turns down a little, as she bites her inner cheek. She takes her left hand and places it on Ashlyn's cheek, thumb running over her prominent cheek bone. She wants to say more, more about the reason she hasn't in stayed in touch with her over the past few months, hell, even the past year almost. She knows as much as Ashlyn can't complain about their random (and now, not so random run ins), she does wish that She had talked to her more. What Jessica told her over brunch a few weeks ago still replays in her head like she just heard it for the first time, 'she REALLY' wants to care about you'. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she really wants to care about Ashlyn as well, in fact she already does and it scares, and comforts her more than anything. She feels a light kiss on her forehead bringing her out of her head. 

"You okay there, where did you just go?"

Ali's smile reappears as the hand on Ashlyn's cheek drops down to her shoulder. "Just thinking about everything, BUT we need to get moving if we are meeting them in forty-five minutes, this takes time.", dramatically waving her hands down her body. 

Ashlyn pulls her into a hug, "you look beautiful no matter what. Mind if we shower together?", she asks, pulling back slight to gauge her reaction. This would be a first for them and on one hand, she would prefer they had no timetable so they could fully explore each other in there. 

It's almost like Ali read her mind. "Mmmm, that sounds amazing, but I'm pretty sure we would not be ready in forty-five minutes. Rain check?"

A smirk of a smile lights up Ashlyn's face as she nods. "Yeah, good point, I doubt these spirit fingers would behave. This bikini today", she takes one of Ali's hands and lifts it over her head, spinning her around, "it definitely did things to me today. It fits you perfectly."

"Well, then. Maybe you should help get me out of it before I jump in.", turning around so she is facing the wall, her back to Ashlyn. 

There is no prompting needed. Ashlyn places both of her hands on Ali's waist while she leans forward and places a soft kiss on Ali's neck and shoulder. She slowly drags her fingertips up to untie the first piece of fabric holding this barely there top up. She places her mouth back on her neck as she lets her fingers work below her. Once untied, she runs both her palms up her back until she gets to the bow on her neck. Ashlyn shifts her eyes up and realizes that they are standing in front of mirror. As her eyes look forward, she sees that Ali's eyes are closed, mouth slightly pursed. When her fingers start to untie the only thing helping cover her, she whispers, "open your eyes." Ali slowly opens them and bites lower lip, a small smile coming to her face. Within seconds, the top falls to the ground and this time it's Ashlyn's eyes that close after she briefly took in the beautiful brunette topless woman in front of her. Even though her eyes were closed, her hands still continued to move. They slowly moved back down her back until they were high on her waist. Her eyes slowly opened as she brought them around on each side to move up and cover each one of Ali's bare, sandy covered breasts. Their eyes are drilling holes into one another and as she lightly squeezes down, Ali's body pushing back into her in response. Ali can't stand by anymore and snakes her right hand behind Ashlyn's head to turn it towards her. She leans her head back slightly as she pulls Ashlyn's toward her, capturing her lips into a stinging, deep kiss that fills the villa with moans. Ali isn't sure if it's the kiss or the fact that Ashlyn's soft caresses on her breasts definitely increased pressure once that kiss started. She also realizes at this point, this might have been a worse idea than the shower would have been. 

Once they need air, their lips slowly pull away. They both go back to looking at each other in the mirror, faces flush, eyes dark with want and desire. Ashlyn's hands give one last soft squeeze before slowly starting to descend down her sides to the her bikini bottoms, the ones that have shown off her tight ass all day. Instead of just pulling the bottoms down, her hands ghosts over her in the back and she gives her ass a soft squeeze, watching her eyes flutter shut for a second. She's hoping she's reading this right and Ali is wanting this as bad as she does. She slowly moves each hand back to her hips and pulls her ass tight into her as her lips have moved up to tug on Ali's ear lobe. She allows her right palm to come around and lay flat on Ali's stomach for a brief moment before she starts to lower her hand into the light blue bikini bottoms. Ali's eyes are open again, barely, and Ashlyn can already see she is fighting the desire she feels with her furrowed brow. She also can see that if Ashlyn doesn't continue this journey soon, Ali may just do it herself. Ashlyn's fingertips first reach her clit as she lets her dominant fingers slowly, gently, and with light pressure, turn soft circles. Ali lets out a soft moan as their eyes are still deeply connected, Ashlyn's body falling into a barely there rhythm with Ali's body moving against her. That is, until Ashlyn's fingers continue to move south, immediately feeling the copious amount of wetness. She can't contain herself at this point as she lightly bites down on her shoulder. She looks up just as her fingers have started to slide up and down on Ali's entrance, watching the brunette starting to struggle in control of herself. She gently lets the same two fingers that were rubbing her clit barely tease Ali's opening, not even putting all of her fingertips in. Before entering her more, she slowly starts to pull her hand out which brings Ali out of her haze that she is in. Ashlyn anticipates her saying something so she preempts it by letting out a soft 'shhh', as both hands are now pushing down the bottoms, her mouth and tongue leaving a trail as she bends down to bring them to the ground. Once around Ali's ankles, she softly bites her ass as she is moving to stand back up, hands running up the front of Ali's thighs until they are back in the position they were just in, this time though, Ashlyn's eyes are raking over her completely nude body. 

"I'll never get over how beautiful you are."

After an acknowledging smile from her desire, her right hand moves around again and begins to dip lower, back into her folds, while her left hand moves up to start caressing one of her breasts. Once Ali feels the fingertips again teasing her entrance, after leaving her clit, she can barley take it anymore. Her body is wound so tight, she feels like she may explode at any moment. It's just then that she starts to feel the stretch of two long fingers slowly, agonizingly slow, entering her. 

"Ash", she breathes out as her hands have gone to the back of Ashlyn's body, settling on her ass. At the same time, Ashlyn had bit down on her shoulder, attempting to stifle an extremely loud moan and failing fairly easily. Once her fingers are all the way in, she feels Ali starting to squirm. She could tell when she entered her how tight she had already gotten and knows she must be close. Not wanting to torture her, she slowly pulls her fingers back out, this time moving them up to her clit, covering it in her sweet wetness. With a few motions of a similar pattern from earlier, she can feel the struggle that's happening in front of her. She doesn't want to tease her anymore, they lock eyes again when her fingers push through the now even tighter space. She is ready to push her over so she barely enters her to her knuckles, pulling back out and in at an excruciating pace, the knuckle of her thumb pushing hard against her clit. 

"Oh fuck, Ash" came out as a moan promoting Ashlyn to bring her home, mouth moving to her pulse point, eyes still focused straight ahead. Ali's brow is beyond furrowed and she is starting to have trouble standing. Ashlyn starts to hear another loud moan and she enters her one final time and presses against her g spot. Ali's head just falls forward right before she let's go, Ashlyn starts to feel an increased wetness around her fingers. The heavy breathing that filled the room in the last few minutes falls silent when Ali throws her head back on Ashlyn's shoulder and let's loose a guttural moan from deep in her gut. Ashlyn moves her mouth onto Ali's wide open neck, her left hand moving from her breast to wrap around her waist to help hold her up as she fully presses her fingers all the way inside of her, letting her ride out the intense orgasm that is currently pulsing through her entire body. 

Ashlyn places soft kisses along her neck and jawline, eventually her cheek when Ali brings her head back forward. She opens her eyes and looks straight ahead towards the mirror, taking everything in. Watching Ashlyn placing soft kisses on her body, looking at her strong, tattooed arm that is carefully wrapped around her, holding her tight. Shifting her eyes down her own bare body until she see's her other hand and fingers, deep inside her and she admits that this feeling, this view, this moment has been something she has missed, something maybe she always has missed in her life. Someone she barely knows treating her body like it's the most amazing thing she has ever seen or touched. Meghan never looked at her how Ashlyn looks at her, never touched her how she touches her, never made her come like she does. It's time to stop being scared and it's time to follow something she has long forgotten to acknowledge. 

Her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, some folks like this one so, happy holidays! I wasn't planning on updating this one yet, but what can I say, I was in a giving mood (as you'll be able to tell). 
> 
> Fair warning, it will be a bit again before an update. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	5. That's Such a Line

Ali begins to stir when she hears faint voices outside, lifting her head to remember they left their bedroom sliding doors cracked to fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean. Once she figures everything out, she lays her head back down on the bare chest of the gorgeous woman below her. She curls back into Ashlyn tightly and feels her arm reaffirm the grip around her back. She lays there, debating waking Ashlyn up and making their way down to the beach to watch the sunrise or stay tangled in her arms. Ashlyn had set an alarm for 7:30 so she and Craig could go surfing, so Ali assumes that will be going off soon anyway. Ali reaches over to lift up her phone and is pleasantly surprised it's only 6am. Ali had gotten talked into coming along to try surfing, but in reality, she didn't need to have her arm twisted to want to go watch Ashlyn in action. She lets her eyes drift over the slim but firm body she is currently half laying on top of and notices that her nipples are erect, probably from the cool breeze flowing through the room from outside. As her eyes continue their path down to where the sheet has pooled itself, a small smile comes across her face as she thinks back to just a few hours ago. That thin piece of material only a few inches above where Ali had camped out last night, taking Ashlyn up on that challenge.  
   
_(flashback)_  
   
 _After returning the favor and letting Ashlyn watch in the mirror as Ali had the short haired brunette cumming in her mouth, twice, they had to take a quick shower and be ready in twenty minutes for dinner. They still took separate ones, knowing how turned on they still were and there would have been a major issue of keeping their hands off of each other._  
   
 _Only being five minutes late in getting to Jessica and Craig's villa, they managed to avoid getting in trouble as Jessica was still running around putting the final touches together on her outfit. Seeing how the place they were going to was casual, Ali and Jessica both have summer beach dresses on that hit mid-thigh with sandals, while Ashlyn and Craig have on shorts and t-shirts. Ali did have to control herself when she saw the black fitted t-shirt slide onto Ashlyn's body after her shower. It reminded her of the night in the bar, their first night, and how surprised she was to see all her tattoos. She still thinks back to tracing them in bed that night and being curious about them all. She chuckles to herself thinking how she didn't bother asking since it was a one time thing. That worked out well, Ali thinks, internally rolling her eyes._  
   
 _The foursome have a great dinner, laughing, drinking, and eating some local dishes. After a few hours of having no other cares in the world, they start to make their way back to their resort. During the quick ten minute walk, Ali and Ashlyn walk hand in hand along with Jessica and Craig. The girls definitely endured their share of teasing during the dinner, but made sure to use their own knowledge of the newlyweds to call them both out when needed. Before they split apart for the night, they make plans for tomorrow morning. Ashlyn and Craig are hoping to be out at the beach right after sunrise with Ali and Jessica either coming down with them or grabbing breakfast for the group._  
   
 _Ashlyn opens the door as usual and lets Ali through first before following her in. As she throws her wallet, phone, and villa key down on the counter, Ali continues walking through the modern space and opens the sliding doors to let some fresh air in. She turns around and, not seeing Ashlyn, assumes she went into the bedroom to change. Ali steps over the threshold out to their pool deck and sits on one of the chaise lounges breathing in the salt water air, feeling the soft warm breeze, looking up at the full moon and stars. She has her eyes closed and doesn't see or hear Ashlyn come out until she sits down next to her on the chair._  
   
 _"Hey you. Where did you go?"_  
   
 _Kissing her cheek, Ashlyn tells her "I just wanted to take off my shoes and make sure something got done while we were gone."_  
   
 _Ali raises an eyebrow, her interest piqued. She watches as Ashlyn leans down between her legs and picks up a bottle of wine and two glasses she must have brought out from the kitchen._  
   
 _"I didn't know if you wanted another glass of wine tonight. If not, we can save it for tomorrow."_  
   
 _"Ooh, look at you. When did you get this?_ "  
   
 _"Before we left for dinner. I called down for room service to bring us a bottle while we were out." She shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know, just sounded like something nice, ending the evening looking out at the water  with a glass of wine."_  
   
 _"I love it! Let's go for it." Ali answers with a crinkled smile._  
   
 _Ashlyn opens the bottle and pours them two glasses of rosé before setting the bottle back on the ground, next to the chair. "What should we toast to tonight? This time it's your turn."_  
   
 _"Hmmm", Ali hums out, trying to think of something good, but failing, "how about… to spirit fingers?"_  
   
 _Ashlyn almost spills the wine glass laughing so hard. She just shakes her head, "that's the last time you are in charge of toasts. You did so good before…", as she finally moves her glass towards Ali's to clink glasses. They both take a generous sip, closing their eyes as they let the pink liquid run over their tongue and teeth before swallowing._  
   
 _"Hey," Ashlyn says quietly "come up here," holding out her hand. Ashlyn was scooting to lean against the back of the lounge chair, pulling Ali up so her back was against her chest, between her legs. Once situated, they each take another sip of wine before resting their heads back, Ashlyn's on the pillow behind her, Ali against Ashlyn's collarbone. Ashlyn lays her free left hand lightly against Ali's waist, Ali's hand falling on Ashlyn's thigh._  
   
 _They sit there in silence just listening to the waves crash in front of them, sipping their wine. Ali feels a soft kiss on the side of her temple, a small smile coming to her face before asking Ashlyn, "whatcha thinking about back there?"_  
   
 _Ashlyn leans her head into Ali's, enjoying her the scent of her hair and lotion. "Just thinking of what my first night here would have been like if you weren't here. I don't know, it would just be me sitting in this chair, by myself, probably thinking about you, wishing you were here."_  
   
 _"That's such a line," Ali says with a chuckle, as her hand slowly runs over Ashlyn's thigh. She can feel Ashlyn shrug behind her._  
   
 _"Not really. To be completely honest, since the weekend of the wedding, you come to my mind a lot. Usually it's when I'm working, laying in another nondescript hotel room. It's funny how almost every hotel room now reminds me of San Diego."_  
   
 _"So basically, it's just about the sex?" Ali asked, intrigued. The sex was amazing and she would be the first one to admit it, but the thing was, she saw a glimpse of the layers below the surface of Ashlyn and she likes what she has seen so far. One thing is for sure, if this is just sex, she wants to be on the same page as Ashlyn so she doesn't get hurt._  
   
 _"Really? You think I'm just into you for the sex or just wish you were here so I would have someone to fuck around with?" Ashlyn asks with a bit of concern in her voice._  
   
 _Before Ashlyn can continue what she was going to say, Ali shifts to face her. She places her hand on her cheek, "I wasn't accusing you or anything, I was just curious. Since we are in the middle of honest hour", Ali's eyes shifting down for a quick minute,  "I'm scared to open myself up to you and everything that comes with it. If it is just sex, it can be that, but it's at the point where we--or I guess, I--need to figure that out."_  
   
 _Ashlyn sighs and looks down at the space between them, playing with Ali's fingers that were on her thigh. "You aren't the only one that's scared," she mumbles out, lifting her eyes to find Ali's. "I don't want it to be just about the sex. I like getting to know you. I liked the time together at the wedding, dancing, laughing, talking. I liked today and the way your hand rubbed my back while looking at the menu, or the way you looked at me across the table at dinner, or the way our hands fit together when we hold them. There are a lot of things you don't know about me, things that happened while I served. You are the first person in five years that I've remotely thought about opening myself up to, so yes, I want to explore it. That all being said, I know you have something holding you back as well. Neither of us need to bring all of our baggage out on this trip. The only thing I want is a chance to see what this is." She motions between the two. "You don't know how happy it made me that you said I could take you out tomorrow. Let's just take it one day at a time. But I just want to be clear: you aren't just someone I want to fuck every couple of months and not talk to again till the next time."_  
   
 _A smile comes to Ali's face as she takes in everything Ashlyn just expressed. It seems they both have their past that will naturally be talked about and explored, but now is not the time. She takes both of Ashlyn's hands before asking, "will you hold me accountable? If I don't follow through or call or text, will you? I want to see where this can go but I know myself and as you have seen, sometimes I fall short."_  
   
 _Ashlyn squeezes her hands in response. "Let me see your glass again." Ali reaches over to the table to pick up her glass as Ashlyn reaches down to grab her glass and the bottle. She hands Ali her glass to hold and tops them both off, setting the empty bottle back on the ground. "Ok, this time, I'm toasting because that before, was a mess," smiling with her dimple showing at the end. Ali just giggles and then widens her eyes while smiling back, lightly slapping Ashlyn's thigh._  
   
 _"Let's go with, to holding each other accountable," Ashlyn says confidently, both women holding eye contact while they clink glasses and take a sip. "Now let's try this again, scoot up here and let me hold you."_  
   
 _Ali just replies with a warm smile and resumes her place, her back nestled onto Ashlyn's chest, feeling even closer to her than she did five minutes ago._  
   
 _(end flashback)_  
   
Ashlyn stretches her right arm out to her side and grips Ali's body tightly in her left as she starts to take stock of her morning. She looks down to see Ali's head resting on her chest and can feel the gentle stroking of fingers between her legs, Ali's arm snaked underneath the white sheet. A smile comes to Ashlyn's  face, as it seems to every time she wakes up with Ali in her arms. Granted, it's only been three times now, including once with clothes on, but it's three times more than Ashlyn thinks she deserves. As she is surveying the beautiful woman in her arms, she feels the head on her chest shift and beautiful brown eyes look up at her. She feels Ali place a soft kiss on the side of her breast and then reposition herself up in the crook of her arm, moving her hand  up to brush over her stomach, up to Ashlyn's chest.  
   
"Hey you. Did you sleep well?" Ali asks, looking over at Ashlyn.  
   
"Mmmmhmmm," she answers as she moves her right hand to run through Ali's hair. "What time is it?"

____

Ali lifts herself up to grab Ashlyn's phone off the nightstand but basically has to climb on top of her. In the process of that, Ashlyn grabs hold of Ali's hips and firmly presses her down into her. "Hey, that's not fair," Ali lets out in soft protest. Ashlyn sits herself up so they are eye to eye, lifting one hand off her waist to push some stray hairs behind Ali's ear.  
   
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. It wasn't exactly fair, what you were doing when you woke me up…" Ashlyn mumbles out as she leans forward to place a chaste kiss on Ali's lips. As Ali goes to pull away, Ashlyn's hands drop to her thighs and rest lightly on top. Ali wraps her arms loosely around Ashlyn's neck as they go back to looking in each others eyes. After a few seconds, Ali looks over and can see the alarm clock on the nightstand without having to grab the phone.  
   
"It looks like its 6:13. I may have been trying to wake you up so we could go see the sunrise before you meet Craig," Ali responds shrugging her shoulders.  
   
While Ashlyn squeezes Ali's thighs, she leans in and says against Ali's lips, "Hmmm, what about finishing what you started." She can feel Ali's smile against her lips, encouraging her to fully lean in and connect. This time though, the kiss is the opposite of chaste. Ashlyn immediately looks to deepen it and Ali happily obliges, neither one caring about morning breath. A soft moan emanates from Ali's mouth when Ashlyn starts running her tongue over Ali's, deep inside her mouth. After a few more passionate seconds pass, Ali pulls away and they rest their foreheads together.  
   
"As confident as I am in my skills, I want you for more than--" Ali looks over, "--ten minutes, so get up before the sun is up".   
   
"Fine, leave me all worked up for the day," Ashlyn says sighing, leaning back in the bed. Ali climbs off of her and the bed, grabbing her bathing suit as she walks into the bathroom. Ashlyn picks up her phone and turns the alarm off, standing up and stretching by the side of the bed. When Ali walks out of the bathroom in a different two piece than yesterday, Ashlyn just stops in her tracks and stares.  
   
"Close your mouth, Harris, you are gonna catch some flies."  
   
Ashlyn just looks at her with a smug smile, throwing her phone on the bed, walking towards her.  
   
"Is this how you plan on watching the sunrise? Bare ass and all?" Ali says while giving her a light smack as Ashlyn walks by. That action makes Ashlyn change course and wrap her arms around Ali's midsection.  
   
"Don't think you were complaining about this bare ass last night," Ashlyn mumbles out as she gives a light peck to Ali's lips as she moves around her and into the bathroom. Ali just rolls her eyes, knowing how true that statement is.  
   
Ali goes around the villa, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and a couple of towels as Ashlyn comes out dressed, ready to go.  
   
"Hey Al?"  
   
"Yeah, babe?"  
   
"So, we are still on for tonight right, date night?" Ashlyn asks nervously.  
   
"Yep, unless you are backing out…?" Ali asks, coming to a complete stop to look at Ashlyn.  
   
"I would never back out, are you kidding me?" A big smile comes to Ashlyn's face. "I'm going to get ready at Craig's place tonight and come pick you up at 5:30, does that work?"  
   
Ali's eyes light up, internally getting a little excited about it all. "Are you sure? You can get ready in here, you know."  
   
Ashlyn just shrugs her shoulders, "I just thought, if we are doing this, I want to do it right. I mean if it was a real first date, I wouldn't be at your place getting ready."  
   
Ali nods her head. "Yeah, I guess so. What should I wear… do I get any direction?"  
   
Ashlyn thinks for a minute before answering, "I think if you were to wear something like you wore last night, maybe bring a sweater, that should be more than fine."  
   
Ali closes the small space and kisses Ashlyn's cheek, "I'm really looking forward to this."  
   
Ashlyn wraps her arms around Ali, keeping her in place for a little bit longer, whispering, "me too, beautiful."  
   
Ali places a soft kiss on her lips, before smacking her ass, "let's get a move on it!"  
   
They make their way out of their villa and down to the beach. Ashlyn starts to lead the way once they hit the sand. As soon as Ashlyn's feet hit the sand this morning, she feels a serene sense of calm rush over her. They were out on the beach yesterday, but today is when it feels like she is home. The horizon starting to light up from the yet to be risen sun and the gentle bird calls in the distance.  
   
The ocean has always brought her a level of calm and clarity and today will be no different. When she thinks of the numerous reasons why she is thankful to be based in Orlando, the ocean definitely ranks right behind family and friends. Being only an hour and a half from where she grew up, she's able to go over on her off days and get into the water. Even if it's only for thirty minutes or an hour it's always worth it. Today though, she admits, is a little better than all the rest. She's going to be having  the girl she is slowly but surely falling for, with her.  
   
She steps over the kelp and sea shells that washed ashore during high tide in the middle of the night and finds a spot that is fairly flat, laying down a towel for them to sit on. She helps Ali down and then sits beside her, staring out at the ocean. Ali turns to her side and takes in Ashlyn, her snapback facing forward, a pullover with board shorts, toes buried in the sand.   
   
Ashlyn feels eyes on her and slowly turns to face Ali, the glow of the first sun rays illuminating her face. She can't help herself as leans over to kiss her on the nearly deserted beach. Ali's hand moves to her neck, bringing her closer and she continues to move their lips move in unison. Slowly they pull apart and quietly stare out at the sea.  
   
Unnoticed, Ali feels Ashlyn's hand grazing hers before their fingers interlock. She lightly squeezes her hand once they are flush, earning a small smile from both their faces. After a few minutes, as the sun is starting to break through the clouds, Ashlyn slowly maneuvers over in between Ali's legs, leaning back into her chest, her arms wrapped loosely around Ali's thighs. Ashlyn closes her eyes to live in this moment. The light breeze and gentle spray of the salt water misting over them, laying in this gorgeous girls arms, wanting this moment to never end.  
   
By the time she opens her eyes, the suns rays are piercing her eyes. Ashlyn grabs her phone out of her back pocket, maneuvers it around, opening the camera app. She turns her head slightly to see Ali's eyes looking at hers.  
   
"Do you mind if I take a picture of us? I want to remember his moment forever," Ashlyn quietly tells her. Ali leans forward slightly, kissing her forehead.  
   
"I'd love that. We don't have any pictures of us."  Ali smiles before continuing "You better send it to me."  
   
A genuine smile comes across Ashlyn's face as she leans back to kiss Ali's lips gently. She puts the phone up in front of them, feels Ali's arms wrap her midsection and sees their faces light up the screen. She snaps a few pictures before taking off her hat to feel the air rustle through the remnants of her bed head, taking a few more.  
   
They sit there for a minute or two more before Ashlyn notices the time and that they need to get back to their villa to meet Craig. She begrudgingly gets up and offers her hand to help Ali. Once up, Ashlyn grabs the towel, shaking of the loose particles of sand before folding up and putting under her arm. Once they start back up the beach, she feels Ali's hand intertwine with hers, pulling her closer as they walk the fifty yards back.  
   
Once back in the room, they pull each other close, just holding on to one another. They aren't back in the room for more that a minute or two before they are brought out of their sweet embrace by the sound of an incoming text from Ashlyn's phone.   
   
"Ugh," Ashlyn grunts out, moving over to the kitchen counter to check her phone. "Apparently, Jessica and Craig are on their way over."  
   
Ali heads up to their door, unlocking it and propping it open with the safety latch so the newlyweds can come in on their own.  As she walks back in, she can see Ashlyn has moved over to the couch and is sitting with her surfboard on her lap. She is opening a new package of wax and starts making methodical circles over some of the caked on wax residue that has remained on the board. Ali can see all of the muscles in her arms and shoulders contracting as she moves her hand over the seven foot board. She is pulled out of her gaze when she hears a light knock on the door before turning and sees it opening.  
   
"Is the coast clear?" Jessica yells out as she sets their stuff down in the hallway, just inside the door.  
   
Ali just shakes her head as she walks toward her, "pretty sure we aren't going to leave the door open if it wasn't."  
   
"With you two, there is no telling," Craig chimes in.  
   
Ashlyn stands up, moving to lean her surfboard on the closest wall. "Oh, so now the peanut gallery has jokes?" She grabs a clean towel and some sunscreen before walking over to where the three are standing.  "Hey Al? Would you mind if I just throw these few things in your bag?"  
   
"That's fine, babe. Here, hand them to me."  
   
"These two make me want to vomit," they hear Jessica mumble to Craig.  
   
"Yeah, yeah, you guys ready? We're ready," Ashlyn declares as she grabs her sunglasses, wallet and key before heading over to grab her board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super short, but wanted to give you guys something. This has been written for quite some time and I hoped to make it as long as my usual chapters, but life. On the bright side of things, to post this, I cut off paragraphs almost as long as this chapter so maybe I'll get around to posting sooner than later. 
> 
> Enjoy!


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